Changemakersaathi Special school for special needs children in Noida, Delhi and NCR region.
Nirantar Prayas is the combined effort of like-minded parents to provide for a life full of dignity and respect for their children with special needs, captained by an experienced special educator and parent – Ms. Madhuchhanda Mishra.
“Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves” –John F. Kennedy
A Delhi-NCR based non-profit NGO run by a group of parents having children with autism and special educators. We aim to provide a life of dignity and respect for persons with intellectual disabilities. Captained by a parent cum special educator Ms. Madhuchhanda Mishra with 15+ Years of experience. Nirantar Prayas currently operates a pre-vocational center (for students 12+ years of age) and a vocational center (for students 18+ years of age) at Noida with currently a total of 31 students.
Our Mission – A continuous effort towards empowering our children. Our Vision – Establishing dignity and respect for the differently-abled. Our Core Values: Social inclusion and holistic development of our children.
Our Everyday Schedule Our everyday routine start with prayer,followed by national anthem. After that we do physical exercise followed by an interactive circle time ,after that we do lunch,which is followed by class time (where we focus on funtional academics money concepts,time, simple reading comprehension etc.),after that we have a work time and fun time.
Out door Activities We take our children to Malls,Parks, metro rides , movies to give them exposure and spread awareness and prepare them for social situations.
We also visit corporate houses and give exposure to our children in different situations
Pre-Vocational Skilling Our pre-vocational program has been planned to find interest inclinations,abilities and give knowledge of functional academics,develop personal competences and prepare them for the requirements from the world of works
Our pre-vocational program has been well-planned and tested and it basically works towards improving child’s abilities in following areas: • Communication • ADL Independence • Functional academics • Computer training • Timeliness • Basic skills in cooking, cloth folding, office skills etc.
Vocational Training We prepare our inmates to work in sheltered workshops as well as in house personnels. We give computer training,working on manual machinces like paper plate making machine, sewing machine, we teach them in making newspaper bags that reduces the use of polithine bags. We teach stitching and beading activities to promote attending skills. We also teach house keeping activities live making tea coffee on a tea vending machine, brooming and moping floor, dusting ,folding cloths etc. we also have a shoppie that teach our children money exchange and calculation and buying and selling products.
We are planning to start cooking
Sports Activities Sports activities help in reducing stress and enhances the moods of our students and increase fitness,improve sleep cycle and help in socialisation
Festivals India is a land of festival, we use them as moment of social interaction and celebrate event the life itself.
Residential Facilities We have Residential Facilities to make our children feel at home and to give them a healthy environment.
Our Lockdown Sessions In this era of Pendemic We connect with our students through Zoom. we focuse on Functional academics, language ,story sessions, craft activity, computer skils and Yoga
ASSESSMENTS AND INDIVIDUALISED EDUCATION PLANS We conduct an initial assessment to gauge child’s current functioning level in areas of cognitive, sensory, ADL (activities of daily living). This includes detailed interviews with parents/ caregiver as well as multiple sessions with the child. Based on this we chart an individualised education plan for the child setting semi-annual goals. As each child with developmental disability has different needs, this helps us provide personalized attention to major areas of disability for the child.
We are Providing an Environment for Our Students to Grow & Excel We aim to enrich the quality of life for its students, providing them inclusive opportunities – socially, physically, emotionally and professionally, to the best of their abilities. In the longer term, we want to setup a residential facility for differently abled Individuals
Team Nirantar Prayas
Creative representation for this blog is done by our extremely talented CreativeSaathi associate Morpheus Nag and Dhairya Kumar Pal
Changemakersaathi Special school and therapy center for special needs children in Noida, Delhi and NCR region.
Margshree special school and therapy center in Noida was founded in 2016 by a highly qualified and experienced team of Rehabilitation Professionals under the guidance of Mr. Praval Yadav, who is a special educator in Noida and Delhi region. Mr. Yadav had always been passionate about providing education to children with special needs and disabilities.
When he first started Margshree 7 years back, it was a small school with just a few students. However, Mr. Yadav was determined to make a difference in the lives of these children. He worked tirelessly to create a supportive and inclusive environment where each child could learn and grow to their fullest potential.
Margshree is a school and therapy centre that has dedicated its services exclusively for individuals with Autism and Developmental Disabilities of all ages. Margshree is committed to build an inclusive and congenial environment for the persons with developmental disabilities. Over the 7 years, Margshree has significant impact on the lives of children with special needs and their families.
The highlight of Margshree special school is its “School Readiness program” and “Sports readiness“. Many students are placed in regular schools with the help of Margshree’s School Readiness Program. More than hundreds of individuals have benefited by their therapeutic intervention services. Moreover, Margshree’s program for the preparation of Open Schooling has opened the door for the higher education of students with special needs.
Margshree is an organisation which provides evidence based innovative and ethical services. Team at Margshree is licensed by RCI and truly believe in holistic development of their learners.
The key areas of Margshree’s work are Assessment and diagnosis services, early intervention, education, therapeutic intervention, skill training and advocacy for the rights of individual with disabilities. They offer various programs focusing on education, training and life skills exclusively for individuals with Autism. Community orientation, field trips, sports and recreational activities are the integral part of their curriculum.
As the years went by, today Margshree has grew in size and reputation. More and more families began to hear about the school’s amazing work and the positive impact it was having on the lives of children with special needs. Mr. Yadav’s dedication and commitment to his students were unwavering, and he continued to innovate and improve the school’s programs and facilities.
Under Mr. Yadav’s leadership, Margshree has became a beacon of hope and inspiration for families with special needs children. The school’s teachers and staff were all trained to work with children with a wide range of disabilities, and they provided individualized care and attention to each child.
Today, Margshree is one of the best special schools in Noida, and its impact has been felt far beyond its walls. Mr. Yadav’s vision and passion have inspired countless other educators and changemakers to work towards creating more inclusive and supportive communities for people with disabilities.
Thanks to Mr. Yadav and his team’s tireless efforts, the children at Margshree are thriving and reaching their full potential. They are learning, growing, and becoming active participants in their communities. Mr. Yadav’s legacy as a changemaker and advocate for children with special needs will continue to inspire others for years to come.
Mall Visit, metro ride and other outings
Margshree strongly advocates for inclusive education and they work in collaboration with various mainstream schools to promote inclusive education. They organise various events, awareness programs, workshops and seminar for the school, parents and community empowerment. Inclusive activities are conducted to celebrate festivals and community visits.
Festival celebrations
Disability Awareness Inclusive Holi celebration and church visit with the kids of Cambridge Montessori SchoolShowcasing abilities Awareness Workshop Workshop for ParentsWorkshop for Shadow teachers
Changemakersaathi Special school and therapy center for special needs children in Noida, Delhi and NCR region.
Orane Kids, School for Special Children, Sector 72 Noida, has been making remarkable progress in the field of special education since its inception. We believe in the worth, dignity and unique character of the individual. The school strives to provide quality education and training to its students, where learning is limited only by the ability of the learner.
Here are some of the notable achievements of the school:
1. Cohesive Education: Orane Kids actively involves networking and a comprehensive trans-disciplinary team approach with reference to identification and diagnosis of ASD. The school facilitates an embracing, therapeutic, supportive and psycho-educational environment which operates in cohesion keeping in mind the student, parent and social bonding that forms an integral part of our education.
2. Multidisciplinary Team: The school has a dedicated team of experienced professionals, comprising special educators, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and behavior therapists, who work together to deliver personalized learning programs for each student. Members of staff at Orane are trained in internationally-recognized methods such as TEACCH, etc. to incorporate visual and verbal stimuli and enhance their interactive cross curricular learning programmes.
3. National Open School (NIOS): Orane Kids is one of the few special schools which designs Individualised Education Plan, tailor made to the child’s learning style. The school has a well-equipped sensory room, and other therapeutic tools to provide Occupational Therapy that caters to sensory needs and other motor skill development of the students. The school also provides Speech Therapy as per the child’s needs and requirements. Some of our children have appeared for the National Open school exams and since inception we have had three batches successfully clearing the National Open School Exam of Grade 3 & 5 respectively.
4. Inculcating Life Skills: The curriculum of Orane Kids is not limited to academics but also focuses on the holistic development of children; imparting life skills, social skills, pre-vocational and vocational training to the students. The vocational centre Sai Yogya equips our young adults and adults for vocational training and life skills. Products made by these young adults have been showcased in MNC’s like HCL and Nagarro Software and were a huge success in Diwali Fairs and Durga Puja Fairs. Social clubs like Inner Wheel and Rotary Club have recognised our efforts and supported the cause with donations and guidance.
5. Respite Care & Day Care: Orane respite care provides a home away from home for our young children. During the times when going to that meeting or family wedding is inevitable or if there is a medical emergency in the family, we provide day care and respite care to your child. Under the care of competent staff, the children are provided home cooked food and actively involved in various activities.
6. An All-Round Development Centre: At Orane we have always believed in overall development of the children. The children participate in almost all sports competitions held in Noida and Delhi. Preparation for these events go on throughout the year. Yoga is a part of the regular curriculum. The children are also taken to various outings to develop their social skills and as a part of our training in making this world all inclusive. Our Carnival is one such event which is thrown open to the public and all the special schools in Noida.
7. Annual Events: Orane Kids has provided differently abled children and adults across India a unique platform to share their skills and celebrate them together by hosting online Gardening and Cooking competitions for them. The Super Special Chef Contest over 2 seasons has witnessed over 100 entries every year from differently abled individuals sharing videos and then cooking live online. The Super Special Gardener Contest had our special participants come up with amazing gardening skills, live for the viewers online.
8. The Lockdown Challenge: The Covid lock down situation saw Orane at the forefront with various webinars on different topics not only in training parents but also encouraging fellow parents too. Online therapy be it speech, Occupational Therapy or special education was also some of the major initiatives we incorporated.
Orane Kids School, has been doing commendable work in empowering children with special needs and providing them with equal opportunities to thrive as we believe in the worth, dignity and unique character of every individual. An initiative founded and managed by parents of autistic children, Orane Kids strives to support every special individual and their parents with love, learning and warm guidance.
Team Orane Kids
Artwork for the ChangemakerSaathi story is done by our extremely talented CreativeSaathi associates Morpheus Nag and Dhairya Kumar Pal
Changemakersaathi Special school and for Holistic development of special needs children in Noida, Delhi and NCR region.
STORIES THAT INSPIRE for SPECIALSAATHI Dr Sonali Kataria Sirohi
She is the founder and Head of an organization called Sunrise Learning Foundation that provides education and training to children & adults with special needs, and their parents. Born and brought up in a family of doctors, her basic education is medical (MBBS), followed by an MD from AIIMS, with Neuroscience as her specialization. She is an Autism Specialist and a Fellow in Pediatrics.
She is a mother of two beautiful boys: Poorab and Yuvraaj. When her first child was born, she noticed some red flags in development, as early as 9 months, and he was diagnosed to be on the autism spectrum, by 2 years. Interventions started, but at that time, she was working as a full time consultant in AIIMS, a premiere Institute of the country. When her everyday struggle to balance work and child got tougher, she finally “quit the dream job” to be there for her child.
And that was when her new journey began. She found immense joy in her new world, yet there was a painful silence in her life. All she wanted to hear was a “mummy” !
Very soon, she conceived again, and despite the words of caution given to her by everyone, including her doctor friends and colleagues, that there are good chances of the second child having autism too, she went ahead to bring him into her life.
Yuvraaj came like a breath of fresh air. He broke the years of silence, by talking his way into her world. He started building little blocks of interaction and communication for Poorab. He entered Poorab’s bubble, like no one else could. And this was just the beginning….of a beautiful love story – of a new Sunrise.
Now, she was running a playgroup for play skills for children, and many parents began to look up to her for guidance & support, her inner forces urged her to take the next step- towards a better world for children on the autism spectrum – for their clueless mothers and lost fathers, for parents who felt like autism is a horrible disease.
And this is how Sunrise Learning came into being in 2014, as a pre-school, in a small 2-room place, in sector 122, with 2 students – Poorab & Yuvraaj. ‘Poorab’ means East (from where the sun rises), and ‘Yuvraaj’ means the prince of new learnings. SUNRISE LEARNING was now her third baby.
It stood to bridge the gap between ignorance and understanding, hopelessness and belief, and most importantly, between the parents and their autistic children.
Today, besides being a senior doctor, a social activist, an autism professional, a special-school head, a 2-times TEDx speaker and an autism parent, Dr Sonali is extremely passionate about INCLUSION OF DIFFERENTLY-ABLED PEOPLE (neurodiverse people) into the mainstream society by bridging gaps through INFORMATION-AWARENESS, ACCEPTANCE and CREATING INCLUSIVE SYSTEMS in health-care, educational institutions, and all public services. Currently, she is a member of the panel of doctors at IMA who are fervently involved in modifying the systems at OPD level & Hospital services, to ensure that they are more conducive for managing children & adults with autism. She is also on the advisory board panel of mainstream schools in Noida – Greater Noida – Ghaziabad & Meerut for creating inclusive set-ups for students who have unique needs.
In this journey of empowering families, she has shared the stage with Vidya Balan, Shabana Azmi, Sania Mirza, Smriti Irani, Saina Nehwal, and been invited to Dr Subhash Chandra Show, trying to create every possible opportunity for these influential people to understand the challenges faced by special families, and working towards creating more & more INCLUSIVE SYSTEMS at a larger level.
Some recent awards & recognitions: • Nominated for Sofy Women’s Awards in Social Excellence category 2015 (conducted by Zee News) • Received 19th Stree Shakti Award 2018 (Gantavya Sansthan), awarded by Shri Sunil Shastri (s/o Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri) for remarkable work in the field of women empowerment • Received PNI achievers award 2018 for outstanding work in the field of empowerment of persons with special needs. • Received International School Award 2019 at Dubai (Amity University), for phenomenal parental engagement • Received Forever Star India Awards (FSIA) The Real Super Woman 2020 in category Doctors in Social Achievements • Nominated for “Rashtriya Gaurav Puraskar” 2014 • National School Award 2021 (Best special School in Uttar Pradesh) • Bharat Shiksha Gaurav Puraskar 2021 (for her outstanding performance in the field of Special Education Leadership) • KTK FOUNDATION Education Excellence AWARD 2022 (for academic research in the field of Special Education) • Women Leadership Award 2022 (for exemplary leadership in the field of Special Education)
Her Educational qualifications • MBBS, MD (AIIMS), DNB, MNAMS • Autism Specialist (IBCCES) • Fellow in Pediatrics (Medvarsity) • Visiting Faculty (Dept of Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, AUS) • Son-Rise Program (Autism Treatment Center of America, Massachusetts, USA) • Post Graduate Diploma in Education Administration (Symbiosis) • Teachers Training in Special Education for Autism (American Tesol Institute)
When life gifted her a challenge, she chose to take it as an opportunity, she chose to “be the warrior” and not the victim of her circumstances. Today her motto is “Start where you are, Use what you have and Do what you can, to be your BEST”
Sunrise Learning Foundation It is a not-for-profit non-Government organization dedicated towards providing employment, empowerment, inclusion, independence, vocational training, education and support services to differently-abled people and their families. The organization is registered as a Trust, under The Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and Niti Ayog, DARPAN, FCRA, CSR-1, and MSME. It is also registered under sections 80G and 12A of Income Tax Act, 1961. With its head- office in New Delhi and a Special School at Noida, the Foundation works with families pan India through various outreach programs for providing Skill Training to differently-abled persons.
Sunrise Learning Foundation’s Mission Statement “Empowering Special Lives towards independence & dignity since 2014” is the mandate of Sunrise Learning. The guiding philosophy of their work is to ensure that the people with special needs are able to capitalize on their strengths, reach their maximum potential, and live a life of dignity and independence.
ABOUT SUNRISE LEARNING, NOIDA Sunrise Learning – a special school and a unit of SUNRISE LEARNING FOUNDATION, in Noida that provides education and support to individuals with special needs, in the age groups of 2 to 30+ years. The school offers a wide range of support & educational services, to diverse needs and different age-groups including Early Intervention, Early Learning, Pre-Vocational skill training, Employment Readiness Training, NIOS formal education, Vocational Training courses, sports academy, speech and sensory-motor therapies, and multidisciplinary activities. It offers a safe happy social environment, for children, adolescents & adults to “be themselves, discover and nurture their interests and strengths and actualize their potential” in a non-judgmental loving environment.
Sunrise Learning also provides empowerment for parents and professionals, through many webinars, workshops and courses. It also offers a learning portal with powerful free and paid courses for crucial & key areas of special parenting. Check platform here https://sunriselearning.edmingle.com/
The team at Sunrise Learning Sunrise Learning has a multidisciplinary team of professionals who work together to provide holistic education and support to individuals with special needs. The team comprises of Special Educators, Occupational & Speech Therapists, Sports Coaches, Computer educators, NIOS Subject teachers, Psychologists, Vocational Skill trainers, faculty for music, dance, art, cooking, yoga. many of them are parent-professionals.
Future goals of Sunrise Learning The visionary management team and the dynamic faculty are always trying to seek platforms of opportunity for the learners to grow, in their social & vocational abilities, and the next plan is to scale up the work, to reach out to many more specially-abled people to empower them, enable them and bring out their best potential to become productive citizens of this country.
