Jai Vakeel Foundation And Research Centre

Individuals with ID frequently have other associated disorders; early healthcare Interventions can lead to significant improvements in Cognitive, Academic and Social Outcomes and prevent further complications. The Healthcare vertical is the first touch-point, where every new student comes for diagnosis, followed by receiving holistic, tailored medical and therapeutic intervention as per their need. With a multi-disciplinary team of Paediatricians, Psychologists, Occupational therapists, Physiotherapist, Speech Therapist, Social Workers and access to the city’s leading Paediatric Neurologist and Psychiatrist, the centre provides services such as assessments, therapy, medical consultations and social worker guidance to all our students.

The landscape of the disability sector has undergone a paradigm shift in the past decade. The model has shifted from that of ‘care’ to one which promotes holistic development of the child, with the ultimate goal of ‘inclusion’. Jai Vakeel Foundation runs 4 special schools for children with Intellectual disability, one of the few schools that cater to the entire spectrum of ID ranging from mild, moderate, severe to profound, including multiple disabilities. Our curriculum is designed to address the needs of all levels of disability. For children with mild to moderate ID, the focus is more on functional academics whereas for children with severe to profound grade of ID, the focus is more on activities of daily living. Research has proven that multisensory teaching uses all learning pathways in the brain to enhance memory and learning especially in children with disabilities. That is why, at Jai Vakeel Foundation, every lesson plan is developed around this model. The curriculum is built o

In 2016, despite the availability of teaching materials, there was no standardized curriculum in the ID sector that could be followed. In order to fill this gap, Jai Vakeel Foundation embarked on the exercise of compiling and streamlining the curriculum. The Assessment Checklist and curriculum built at JVF got reviewed and accredited by NIEPID (National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disability.) Following the accreditation, Maharashtra state requested dissemination of Jai Vakeel Curriculum, thereby marking the establishment of Project Disha in 2019. Project Disha (later renamed as “Disha Abhiyan”) is an initiative by Jai Vakeel Foundation to address the issue of the absence of a uniform and relevant curriculum for children with ID. The goal of Disha Abhiyan is to build and disseminate a multisensory curriculum to schools for children with ID and provide training for the implementation of the curriculum. Currently, Disha Abhiyan is working with 436 special s

As PwIDs transition into adulthood, their lives often take a turn for the worse as their primary care-givers start to age and struggle to continue providing round-the-clock care. Support services at this stage are thus critical and can have a transformative impact on the overall quality of their lives. Therefore the Skill Development Centre houses students above the age of 18. In vocational training, we train students from the age group of 18 to 21 years in housekeeping, culinary and retailing skills with a focus to develop and enhance their employability skills and productive engagement. This training leads to open, sheltered, or self-employment depending on the individual’s capacity. For students above 21, who work with us in our Sheltered Workshop, we engage them in making various products under 8 different vocations. They continue to be a part of the Sheltered Workshop till the age of 50.

Lack of medical health specialists and medical tools (especially in rural areas) lead to late diagnosis. Since 2010, Jai Vakeel Foundation in collaboration with other noted organizations in the field has been conducting medical camps in rural Maharashtra. Today, we conduct bi-annual medical camps in 2 districts of Maharashtra to provide multidisciplinary intervention to children with neurological disorders and epilepsy. Teams of 20-25 professionals visit these districts and provide medical and therapeutic intervention along with nutritional supplements and free medicines for neurological disorders and epilepsy.