Rostov Regional Non-Governmental Organization for Assistance to Disabled Children and their Families “Growth without Borders”
Volleyball for All
CSS contribution, rubles
Total budget, rubles
Implementation period, months
Project idea
Project Objective: To popularize volleyball, draw public attention to adaptive volleyball, and demonstrate the skills and capabilities of young athletes with special health needs.
The category of children with special health needs is highly varied. This is primarily due to the fact that it encompasses children with a range of developmental disorders: hearing, vision, and speech impairments, issues with the musculoskeletal system, intellectual disabilities, pronounced emotional and volitional disturbances, as well as developmental delays and complex developmental disorders. Hence, the primary focus in dealing with such children is a tailored approach, taking into account the unique psychological and health characteristics of each child.
Volleyball can assist children with special health needs to better adapt to society, enhance their physical development, and enrich their emotional and volitional spheres! The team at the “Growth without Borders” foundation is entirely convinced of this.
The aim of the project is to foster adaptive volleyball as a sport that can facilitate the enhancement of health, psycho-emotional, and communicative skills of children with special health needs. Furthermore, the project will also positively affect the families of children with special health needs, improving the atmosphere within the household. Joint training sessions with children serve as a common hobby and shared interest. Children with special health needs will have the opportunity to make new friends, given that volleyball is a team sport. Parents, volunteers, and coaches will actively participate in the process. For them, there will be master classes, training, and consultations on conducting adaptive volleyball sessions. All of these efforts contribute to the development of this sport.
Adaptive volleyball is often misinterpreted as wheelchair volleyball. But this unique project is different, even though some of the children taking part have cerebral palsy. “Volleyball for All” encourages leg movement, even if it is slow and challenging.
As part of the project, two off-site sports camps will be organized for families with children who have disabilities. These will include competitions, games and team building activities. Additionally, at least 40 consultations will be held for volunteers to address individual approaches and the organization of interactions with families.
Within the project, a “success map” is created for each special needs volleyball player, where the coach records the initial, intermediate and final results of skill development. Recommendations and observations are also recorded on this map.
Relevance
Often, children with developmental disabilities are seen as weak, and all the parents’ efforts are directed towards combating the disease. Consequently, children with special health needs don’t have access to the full range of physical activities that their healthy peers do. “Volleyball for All” will offer them an opportunity to engage in sports.
To the challenges of a family with a child with special health needs, the difficulties of a single-parent family are added. Divorce rate in families with children with special health needs is notably high, accounting for 50% of the total number of families. In most cases, the lone parent is the mother.
The lack of interaction with an interesting, caring man is a significant issue for children from single-parent families, and health restrictions often prevent them from participating in sports or martial arts in clubs where male coaches are available. The “Volleyball for All” project provides an opportunity for children, particularly boys, to gain experience of interacting with men.
A lack of engaging and joyous leisure time, coupled with insufficient interaction with peers, negatively impacts the development of an evolving personality.
The “Volleyball for All” initiative, aimed at families nurturing children with developmental challenges, serves to counterbalance these identified shortcomings.
Parents of such special children will then have the opportunity to perceive their child through the lens of accomplishments and victories, rather than solely focusing on physical limitations and treatments.
Social effect
Enhancing the quality of life of families with children with special health needs in Rostov and Rostov Region via adaptive volleyball activities.
KPI
KPI
Project Results
34 project participants bolstered their physical and mental health, learned to aid each other and operate as a team. The time required to comprehend tasks has been reduced, and children are now able to fulfill the tasks without the need for volunteer assistance. The time required to complete relay tasks has decreased, children are able to perform more repetitions per set, and the speed and accuracy of their ball exercises have improved.
Corrective and developmental improvements in children include:
The development and refinement of motor skills and abilities; Improvements in spatial orientation and the accuracy of movements; Enhancements in attention span and auditory perception; Development and refinement of rhythm and tempo; Development of both gross and fine motor skills; Speech development and an expansion of their horizons.
Through the project, children have adopted a positive attitude towards a healthy lifestyle, along with increased patience and work efficiency. This also reinforced the notions of friendship and mutual aid.
Consultations for volunteers and parents helped boost the child’s motivation and overall training progress. Supervision sessions for volunteers and coaches were led by professional athletes, which also aided in the training of new children.
Each participant was given a success map, where mastered skills and session progress were tracked. Based on the success map, children have improved their physical performance, learned to manage equipment, work in pairs, and overall, their level of social integration has increased since the project began.
The psychological atmosphere within 34 families improved. Together with their families, children started attending training sessions and competitions, leading to more shared interests and conversation topics.
Children with special health needs from single-mother families gained valuable interaction experience with male coaches.
Project progress after CSS funding
Permanent training groups had been established by the project’s end. Junior and senior athletes’ groups train in the designated hall twice a week. The equipment purchased during the project’s lifespan is actively being used.
