Transfer of Practices to Improve the Support for Children with Special Needs and Their Families towards Inclusive Education

The project: “Transfer of practices to improve the support for children with special needs and their families towards inclusive education” is funded by: Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria, European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 , Project partner is State Diagnostic and Counseling Center (SDCC), Iceland.

Aim:

Exchange of knowledge and expertise with Icelandic organization to develop methods and guidelines to support civil society organizations and providers of social services in Bulgaria, empower parents and other activists to better understand the child’s condition and assist him in developing and piloting the service, which created an opportunity for early guidance and support for children with special needs.

Activities:

1. Working visits to exchange knowledge and expertise between Karin Dom specialists and specialists from the Icelandic partner organization – State Diagnostic and Counseling Center, to support children with special needs and their families in the process of transition and inclusion in mainstream structures.

2. Developing methods and guidelines for the successful support of children with special needs and their families – in the framework of this activity, methods, guidelines, modules for parental advocacy training and teacher training will be developed to prepare for the transition to day care or kindergarten. We will aim at improving cross-sector cooperation on inclusive education and developing a tool for assessing the progress of parents involved in services.

3. Empowering parents and other activists to support the inclusion of children with special needs – the methods and guidelines developed will be a way into practice to help refine them to the needs of the target group and increase the capacity of parents and activists to support children with special needs for their inclusion.

4. Piloting services for children with special needs and their families – the developed methods will be applied, as Karin Dom will pilot a service for parents and young children to monitor the development of children. Open days will be held, individual and group sessions will be held with children, coordination meetings will be organized and held, as well as individual consultations with parents, specialists and educators.

Outcomes:

• Increasing the capacity of Karin Dom and stakeholders on the functioning of the inclusive education system in Iceland and the interaction between the social, educational and health sectors. A benefit analysis of inclusive education in Iceland and the support of children with special needs and their families will be developed, as well as reflecting the experiences and knowledge shared during study visits, seminars and further interactions with the partner.
• Creating tools to support service providers, including civic organizations, to enhance the skills and knowledge of parents and teachers/professionals to prepare, transition and adapt children with special needs in day nurseries and general education, incl. and for working with children with rare diseases. Guidelines will be created to improve synergies and coordination between the stakeholders involved in the inclusive education process – health professionals, social and educational structures. Policy recommendations will be presented.
• The knowledge and skills of parents, teachers, specialists who will participate in 2 seminars and 27 trainings will be enhanced to better understand the child’s condition and support its development. Participants will gain self-confidence and motivation to apply what has been learned in their practice and will better support the socialization and education of children with special needs.
• Parents who will participate in advocacy training, incl. online learning will have an increased knowledge of their rights and interaction with teachers and institutions, which will contribute to their greater activity and initiative.
• Piloting the service will create an opportunity for early irrigation and support to children to gain adaptive skills that will boost and improve their socialization. Improvement in the development of the children will also be achieved through the involvement of their parents in activities and consultations with teachers. Coordination of efforts between all those involved in child support will facilitate a successful transition to nursery, kindergarten or school. There will be 4 days of open doors

The project “Transfer of practices to improve the support for children with special needs and their families towards inclusive education” is implemented with the financial support of 146 175 euro, provided by Iceland, Liectenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial mechanism. The aim of the project is exchange of knowledge and expertise with Icelandic organization to develop methods and guidelines to support civil society organizations and providers of social services in Bulgaria, empower parents and other activists to better understand the child’s condition and assist him in developing and piloting the service, which created an opportunity for early guidance and support for children with special needs.