The Eva Inclusion and Correction Center has launched group classes for teenagers
Social adaptation of children with special needs is one of the open issues on the way to their rehabilitation. They lack communication with their peers dramatically. That is why changes were made to the new set of free rehabilitation courses at the Eva Inclusion and Correction Center — they introduced group classes for teenagers, during which they can gain new skills and communicate with each other.
The Eva Inclusion and Correction Center for kids, financed by the Non-Govermental Organization Techiia Foundation, is located in Petropavlivska Borshchagivka (Kyiv region). Even during the war, the center helps children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, autism, Down, Rett, and Williams syndromes, nervous system disorders, dysarthria, alalia, multiple developmental disabilities, heart defects, hearing, vision, and musculoskeletal disorders.
17-year-old Vlad is one of the kids taken care of by the center, who started rehabilitation at Eva more than a year ago. The boy has cerebral palsy, but his mental potential is preserved, so Vlad goes to the inclusive class in a regular school. However, despite the fact that there are more than 30 students in the class, Vlad's social adaptation is difficult, because his peers do not really want to be friends with children with special needs.
"He likes to read and discuss what he has read, but the books that Vlad is interested in now were read by his peers in junior or high school. That's why he really misses communication and friends. And for us, the organization of group classes at Eva is just a gift of fate," Vlad's mother admits.
In the Eva Center, not only did Vlad make friends and finally learned to swim but he got something bigger — his independence.
"When Vlad started going to the center, he kept losing or forgetting something. We decided to allow him to be more independent and responsible. We live not far from the Center, so he started visiting classes on his own. He visits classes and returns home himself," adds Vlad's mother.
“If you had seen that kid after he first came by on his own. His shoulders straightened. He felt like a part of society. Perhaps this phrase will be incomprehensible to someone, but the universe has opened up for him. He felt leveled with his peers. He pulled himself together. And, if at first, he was losing socks and T-shirts, now he acts and behaves like an independent child. He has friends here, joint activities, we can already see how positively social adaptation affects the development of children with special needs," says Olga Kravchuk, president of the Direct Aid Foundation charity organization, which founded and manages the Eva Center.
At the Eva Center, kids are being taken care of by qualified specialists: rehabilitation specialists, psychologists, neurocorrective psychologists, deflection specialists, art therapists, massage therapists, and kinesitherapists. All services are provided free of charge.
The Eva Inclusion and Correction Center welcomed its first patients in March 2021. Since then over 300 children have received free rehabilitation services. The activity of the center is financed by the Techiia Foundation, a public organization of the TECHIIA holding.
Pre-register for a free rehabilitation course by the link. You can find out more about Eva's programs and services by calling +380 67 521 7992.