M-POWER

Knowledge sharing partnership for empowerment of parents of children with disabilities through mutual learning

Organizations from four European countries are joining efforts in the M-Power project under the Erasmus+ program to develop effective practices for supporting families of children with special needs.

Through this project, the partners aim to:

increase access to information and resources for early support for families
promote parent-to-parent mutual support practices
help build a community of informed and active parents

What we do

Analyze support systems for families of young children with special needs in 4 European countries

Identify good practices for supporting and empowering parents

Develop training methodologies and resources for family empowerment and parent-to-parent support

Pilot a training course and organize knowledge sharing events

Project Partners

Who we are

Our partnership brings together organizations from four European countries, combining experience in practical work with families, a network of service providers, and academic expertise:

KARIN DOM Foundation, Bulgaria – helps children with special needs and their families grow, develop, and feel included, while encouraging more understanding and tolerance in the community

BABES BOLYAI University, Romania – with expertise in research and education the Special Education Department is an interdisciplinary field that prepares specialists in inclusive education and
special education

SOFT Tulip Foundation, the Netherlands – an unique partnership of Dutch service providers for people in need of special care, who join forces to support providers in countries where there is a desire for improvement

PAIDEIA Ente Filantropico Foundation, Italy – supports the growth of children and their caregivers, helping to build a more inclusive and responsible society

Results

Here you can find what we are creating within the M-POWER project

Overview of support systems for families of young children with special needs in 4 European countries

🔹 Presentations of the existing systems for early support of families with children with special needs in Bulgaria, Italy, the Netherlands and Romania.

🔹 Review of Country Profiles: Support Systems of Families of Young Children with Disabilities
The document covers legal frameworks, funding mechanisms, the role of responsible institutions, and levels of accessibility to health, social, and educational services in Bulgaria, Romania, the Netherlands, and Italy.

🔹 Implementation of Specialized Survey Research:
Conducted among parents and professionals to assess actual satisfaction with services, perceived community support, and specific family needs for psycho-emotional support.

Analysis of parent surveys: Assessing services from the family perspective.
Analysis of professional surveys: Assessing services from the experts’ point of view.

Good practices for parent support

Handbook with good practices for support and empowerment of parents of children with special needs in 4 European countries – coming soon

Training methodology for family empowerment and parent-to-parent support

Manual with training modules for family empowerment and parent-to-parent support – coming soon

Pilot training for family empowerment and parent-to-parent support

Report about the pilot course for training of trainers – coming soon
Practical guidelines for family empowerment and parent-to-parent support – coming soon