Special Education Department was set up in LMOIS in the year 2012 to support the learning needs of underperformers and students with wide gaps in literacy and numeracy. Remedial sessions were conducted by Special Educators to bridge the learning gaps. Over a period of time it was realized that though these students cleared assessments they didn’t make any significant progress towards independent learning.
Inspired and Guided by our Guru Babuji Maharaj of Sahaj Marg The INDIGO Section was started in the year 2014 to support the learning of students with special needs.
Our individualized academic approach supports students with Dyslexia, High Functioning Autism, Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s disorder and, various learning differences. In addition to strengthening social skills, executive function skills and life skills the primary goal of all students of Indigo is to achieve greater independence by bridging academic and conceptual gaps.
We do not accept aggressive students or those that are diagnosed with brain damage or psychiatric conditions like borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia and psychosis.
LMOIS is the only school in Asia to have two licensed Davis Facilitators and Davis Learning Strategies Mentors. https://www.davismethod.org/cat/mentor/
Indigo provides warm and nurturing relationships, intensive academic intervention, and individualized education to children in a highly structured environment that ensures that they develop successfully. We encourage family involvement so that the students benefit from the collaborative support of both the teachers and family members.
Individual holistic goals for each student are set out in the IEP and upgraded three times a year based on the basic skills assessment. Individual interaction with children, class room observation and teacher’s & parents’ feedback are also taken into consideration while setting their learning goals.
Facilities provided in the Indigo Sections:
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Trained facilitators – All the facilitators handling Indigo sections are Special Educators and have been trained in Davis Learning Strategies.
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Low Student-Teacher ratio – Total number of students in a class never exceeds 20. Extra caretakers and assistant teachers are provided for Classes I-IV.
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Brain Gym Exercise – Trained Sports teachers frame a need based specific curriculum for each child. Every morning the children are guided into doing brain gym exercise to enhance their potential.
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Emphasis on extra-curricular activities – The children are encouraged to participate in activities like drama, dance, art, music, sports etc. They are trained and provided opportunities to anchor programs and make presentation. A lot of emphasis is laid on training them in life skills.
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Montessori Room – All the children from grades I to VII are guided by experienced teachers in the use of Montessori techniques to learn concepts and life skills.
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Individual counselling for the child and parents – One on one counselling is provided by qualified professionals in case the child is found to have academic, behavioural and/or emotional issues.
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Basic Skills Assessments – Basic skills assessments are administered to each child at the beginning, middle and end of the academic year. The assessments are conducted by trained special educators in reading, comprehension, vocabulary, creative writing and other basic skills. Standardized graded material is used for these assessments, which help us to determine the Independent level/ Instruction level and Frustration level of the child in reading, writing, comprehension and Math.
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Individualised Education Plan – on the basis of Basic skills assessment Individualised Education Plan is designed for each child. The IEP is designed to help the child overcome his conceptual and basic skills gaps. The parents are individually briefed about the IEP of their ward.
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Counselling & guiding parents/ private tutors – Parents and/or private tutors handling the child at home are called for counselling sessions and are briefed about the needs and strengths of the child. They are also made aware of the child’s learning style and what works best for him/her. Interested parents are also made aware of the instruction material that could be used by them at home.
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Duration of students’ stay in the Indigo Section
The child remains in the Indigo Section till he/she acquires age/grade appropriate academic and social skill or grade VII, whichever is earlier.
When the child is able to handle the academic load at any particular grade level successfully, the child is referred to the stream (CBSE/CIS) of parents’ choice for an entrance exam. In case the child clears the entrance exam he is transferred out of the Indigo Section to the mainstream at that grade level. The child is monitored closely by the Counsellor and Class Teacher for a period of time to ensure that the child is comfortable.
Steps taken after the child reaches Class VII
Children who remain in Indigo section till Class VII due to the severity of their difficulty are shifted into Class VIII (OBE) that falls under the NIOS Stream. The parents are updated about their child’s needs and are requested to consider signing up their child for NIOS, the Open Schooling system (available in Lalaji Memorial Omega International School.