School has Government recognition till 7th grade however we train the children right through the 10th grade. During the initial four years, government approved curriculum is covered in 4 steps. The subjects covered are hearing & breathing exercises along with the normal subjects. After the appropriate language training, the regular curriculum is implemented from 1st grade.
One special subject ‘News’ entails discussion and analysis of day-to-day events and incidents. This proves very useful in learning the conversational language. It also helps in enriching the vocabulary, improving grammatical accuracy & speaking the language naturally.
‘Hearing exercises’ include making use of the child’s hearing ability to respond to a sound with the help of hearing aid such as clapping or raising the hand when a sound is heard.
The child is taught to observe the lip & tongue movements while uttering each word, simultaneously using head phone & feeling the vibrations. Children learn the language in a short time. Eight to ten students can be taught the voice modulation & rhythm simultaneously using a group hearing aid.
Breathing exercises: The hearing impaired children cannot utter a word or sentence completely due to lack of control over breathing. To develop the speech ability, the children are asked to do some breathing exercises like making bubbles of soap water, drinking water making use of a straw, blowing the cotton, picking up peas with the help of a straw, blow the candle etc.
Along with academic studies, the children are encouraged to develop other skills like handicraft, drawing, dance, drama, warli painting, jewelry making etc. Professional courses like typing & computer are also available for the children. In Road Safety Police ( R.S.P.), the children are very efficient.
Other recreational activities like study tours, parents-teachers workshop, Anandmela of the students, parents & teachers as well as the celebration of festivals give immense joy to everybody. The students participate in various competitions & win prizes too.
Many students from Astitva have achieved success in different fields & are settled in their lives. The parents who were once demoralized because of the disabled child, fighting all the obstacles, putting their heart & soul in their child’s growth are now very happy.
As a result of the persistent efforts of the parents, perseverance & hard work of the children, impeccable guidance of the teachers and invaluable support of the school, all these hearing impaired children have succeeded in their lives, living a happy life with self-respect. This is the real testimony of the teachers’ hard work, making them feel that all their hard work, sacrifice, perseverance, patience have been paid off. The rehabilitation of these children, having succeeded & settled in their lives, gives their teachers a true sense of satisfaction.