Karin Dom Develops Partnership with the State Diagnostic and Counselling Centre in Iceland

At the end of 2019 Karin Dom launched the project: “Transfer of practices to improve the support for children with special needs and their families towards inclusive education”, funded by the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria under the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 The project partner is State Diagnostic and Counseling Center (SDCC), Iceland.

The State Diagnostic and Counselling Centre (SDCC) in Iceland was established in 1986. To begin with, SDCC was designated and operated under the Disability Act, but since 2003 SDCC has been operated under a special act (83/2003), first by the Ministry of Social Affairs and then the Ministry of Welfare (now including Social Affairs and Health). SDCC is the only tertiary institute serving children with severe neurodevelopmental disorders in Iceland (autism; intellectual disability; cerebral palsy; rare diseases).

The director of SDCC is a pediatrician and the team includes behavior analysts, occupational therapists, social workers, pediatricians, physiotherapists, psychologists, special education teachers and speech and language pathologists – about 60 people in total. The hallmarks of SDCC are its emphasis on interdisciplinary teamwork, early detection and intervention, family-centered services, and clinical research.

The mission of the State Diagnostic and Consultation Center is to ensure that children and adolescents with developmental disabilities that may lead to disabilities later in life receive diagnosis and consultation and have access to resources that can improve their quality of life.

The project “Transfer of practices to improve the support for children with special needs and their families towards inclusive education” is implemented with financial support of 146,745 EUR provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway under the EEA Financial Mechanism. The main objective of the project is to exchange knowledge and expertise with Iceland to develop methods and guidelines to support civic organizations and social service providers in Bulgaria, empower parents and other activists to better understand the child’s situation and support their development, and pilot the service to enable early referral and support for children with special needs.

The entire responsibility for the content of the published information lies with Karin Dom Foundation and can under no circumstances be taken to reflect the official opinion of the EEA Grants and the Operator of the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria.

 

Photo: The State Diagnostic and Counselling Centre (SDCC) in Iceland