The Interregional NGO for Persons with Mental and Psychophysical Disabilities «Equal Opportunities»
Prodljenka 57 (After-school club 57)
CSS contribution, rubles
Total budget, rubles
Implementation period, months
Project idea
The project entails the creation and management of inclusive, multi-age groups for children with special health needs.
Each group will comprise at least three children or teenagers with special health needs and three typically developing peers. Training will be provided in multiple domains, including sessions with a psychologist, speech therapist, and special education teacher, as well as art therapy, creative and physical development exercises, diverse play-based activities, and vocational guidance for teenagers.
Classes are scheduled to be held every weekday.
The project's goal is to provide parents of children with special needs the opportunity to address challenges that are difficult to manage while continuously caring for their child. Engaging in this practice will enhance the psycho-emotional well-being within the parent-child relationship.
Additionally, this project holds significant importance for the children involved. Through inclusive classes within a welcoming and secure environment, children with special health needs can more effectively and rapidly adapt to and integrate with society.
For their neurotypical peers, this practice will also produce positive outcomes. Through engaging with peers who have special health needs, typically developing children will learn to accept and appropriately interact with challenged children. The negativity, aggression, and denial exhibited by these individuals will vanish from relationships.
Relevance
The arrival of a child with special health needs in a family is a significant stressor that impacts the overall well-being of the family as well as the emotional state of each individual member. The study carried out by the Department of General and Developmental Psychology at Turgenev Orel State University revealed that over 80% of parents raising children with special health needs experience ongoing stress and exhibit high levels of both situational and personal anxiety. It should be noted that the negative dynamics revealed in the preservation of marital relations between
parents of a child with special developmental needs. They often face significant challenges, and in many cases, these pressures lead to the dissolution of the family unit, resulting in the child being raised solely by the mother. Feelings of guilt and shame among parents frequently manifest in a marked decrease in the family's social interactions, which in turn impacts the child's socialization process. This limitation hinders the child's ability to acquire social experiences and develop social competencies.
In the city of Orel and the Orel Region, there are 2,997 children with disabilities registered in the Federal State Information System "Federal Register of Disabled Persons" as of August 1, 2021. Of these children, 7% are aged 0 to 3 years, 21% are aged 4 to 7 years, and 49% are aged 8 to 14 years.
Most children in this category have limited social contacts and lack the social skills necessary for effective communication and socialization.
Social effect
Enhancing the social adaptation of children with special health needs through the development of their communication, social, and group skills, as well as improving parent-child relationships in families raising children with special health needs in the Orel Region and the city of Orel.
KPI
KPI
Project Results
As a result of the project, most children with special health needs showed positive dynamics in socialization and communication skills. The children learned to greet each other and respond to greetings, to address each other and adults with requests, and to remain calm in the company of their peers. They began sharing their impressions, showing their crafts, and discussing the difficulties they encountered.
The development of communicative, social, and group skills enabled children with special health needs to participate in joint activities, understand, and accept the rules of the game. They started following the group schedule, participating in sports games, interacting in pairs and mini-groups.
Teenagers have also shown significant improvements in interpersonal communication skills and emotional development. They learned to ask meaningful questions not only to familiar people but also to strangers.
Their level of independence has significantly increased. By the end of the project, 100% of the teenagers were attending classes on their own, without adult supervision.
Parents noted an improvement in the psycho-emotional state. Parent-child and spousal relationships have improved within families. Moms and dads actively participated in organizing leisure activities.
The initial experience of involving children and adolescents with special health needs has helped to raise not only the level of inclusive culture among parents, children, and professionals but also the level of specialists who have no experience working with children who have special health needs.
Project progress after CSS funding
The project is planned to be further developed with funds from benefactors and income from the current operational activities of the public organization.
