"Kangaroo"

"In the summer of 2012 our daughter Julia began to present with developmental delays. She started to stand out among other children. And for the first time our family was faced with the problem of autism. We started to look for resources that could help our child.  We learned about the early rehabilitation program "Kangaroo” for children from 0 to 6 years on the Internet. First, we read positive reviews of Zaporozhye mothers, and then went to the site of the "Florence" Centre www.florence.ucoz.ua. We are very lucky, as on our way we met people who genuinely wanted to help. Initially, I was confused as the rehabilitation program was organized like a sort-of child-care. I thought that you have to come and attend classes with your child. But, after my daughter started attending the Centre, I found that daily stay with the Centre’s team is much more effective that individual exercises that a child can do with his mom. Classes for physical development, intellectual activities, and music events contribute to development of my daughter. A very important aspect of the project is the opportunity for my child's communication with other children. My daughter learned how to play games together with others. Our family wishes many years of prosperity to the "Kangaroo" program and is grateful to all the people, who took part in the creation of the project, for their understanding of the problem of autism. Thank you so much for the high professional work, thanks to which my daughter has the opportunity to develop and interact with other children." This was the feedback we received from the mother of J. in the "Suggestions and Proposals” book of the "Kangaroo” program.

In September J., diagnosed with autism, presented as a closed child, who spoke only three words "Yes", "No", "All", and played on her own. Today, her active vocabulary is more than 50 words and she builds sentences of 2 to 3 words. She learned the names of all the children and teachers; she can address a particular person with a question/request, independently perform a variety of finger movements and articulation exercises, physical exercises, and dance.

In 2012-2013 the Programme "Kangaroo" functioned as a day-care. Twenty children attended the program during the year. Nine of them have ceased to attend classes due to change of residence, reaching the age of 6, admission to special classes of public schools, or identification of other medical conditions that interfered with their independent participation.

Optimal number of children in the group is 12. The children are brought together based on the principle of addition (i.e., with opposite features and a variety of diagnoses, such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, hyperactivity, delayed mental and psycho-speech development various kinds of speech disorders etc.), which supports more successful identification with alternative pattern of behaviour. For children, who present as closed, unsociable (i.e. some of them never go out for a walk on the playground, their diagnoses are kept in secret from family and friends), passive, who do not know basic communication skills, who display aggression, over-reliance, low self-esteem, suffer from fears, conducting classes in the form of group work is very helpful and gives good results. Such classes successfully solve the problem of socialization of children with special needs. Individual and subgroup (2-3-5 people) activities increase the effectiveness of collaborative efforts of the team of specialists. The activities are designed to address the 5 major functional components: self - social development, fine and gross motor skills, language (speech), thinking, and perception. Following the Schtrassmayera program, corrective and preventive work is preceded by diagnostics and achievement evaluation. The evaluation of the developmental level is recorded in the registration forms. Every child’s treatment goals and ways of achieving them are formulated with consideration of their identified developmental level.

In the course of the program, a lot of children learned how to use bathroom independently, sit at the table during meals, and follow daily routines. For the first time they took an active part in the following events: "The celebration of the vegetable harvest," "Hello, New Year 2013," "How I Love My Mommy!" (dedicated to the 8^th of March, the International Women’s Day), "Welcome Summer." Children were learning about aesthetics and art watching puppet theater performances. They spent time sculpting, drawing, participating in music therapy, fairy-tale therapy (a form of art-therapy), building models, doing crafts, articulation exercises, and finger gymnastics. These activities are woven directly into children’s play and are a continuation of their play. Our children also grew fond of physical therapy and massage.

Program staff members deliver psycho-education and counseling for parents of children participating in the program. We actively participate in conferences, workshops, seminars, and lectures relevant to the work of the program in order to increase the level of our professionalism.

Parents trust us with the most precious, their children; and we are honored and take them into our "closely-bonded family." Due to the fact that the children are with us all day, some parents were able to return to their jobs or attend university/college classes. We want every child to grow up happy and feel like a valued member of society. Our main principle is "Help me do it myself!"

We are just like you!

"It’s so great that you came! We looked forward to your visit! And what are we going to do today? "- These and many other questions hear the volunteers from Zaporozhye National Technical University, Institute of Management and Law, majoring in International Tourism and Social Work every time they come to visit students of Kamyshevaha School of Social Rehabilitation (a detention centre).

The active work on the program "We are just like everyone else!" continued all year. Its main goal is re-socialization of young offenders.

Throughout the year, student volunteers participated in various sporting events with the youths, including dynamic sport team-competitions, table tennis, badminton, volleyball, and, of course, soccer.

"When we first started to meet with kids they just played soccer, just kicked the ball around the field. Now, I see that their physical fitness has improved; they have developed technique and tactics for the game. The boys began to realize that they are a team and feel the team spirit. This year's participating in the sports team-competitions the guys kept to their teams and the teams’ interests. Also, award certificates were incredibly important for boys. Before the beginning of competitions they try to clarify whether they will receive certificates or diplomas in the end. It is very nice to see the changes in them." These were the words of Sergey, the chief volunteer of the program that worked with the youths for more than two years.

Also, one of the interesting events this year was the "Quest” game. This activity was carried out for the first time, but produced immense enthusiasm in the youths. "We solved riddles, overcame obstacles in order to reach the main goal and prizes! It was really cool! We are pleased that our team was able to win! "

Among other vents, a trip to the island of Khortytsya was organized for children in fall. On Khortytsya, children participated in a master class in rock-climbing. They learned to work with the equipment and tried to conquer the available summits.

"I wish that there were more field-trips. First, it will add more variety to our activities. Second, outside of the school the boys more free and confident "- said Sergey.

We plan to continue to work on this program next year. Our goal is to prove to the children that they are just like everyone else!

In-service training of social work practitioners  

Our Centre constantly conducts seminars, workshops, round tables for professionals working in social sphere (i.e. social workers). The purpose of these sessions is to improve the quality of education, reduce work-related stress, create a group of like-minded colleagues, and establish connections among governmental and non-governmental agencies.

This year a seminar "Building constructive relationships in families" was delivered to professionals of the departments of the city Social Services (CSS) working with children with special needs.

We also delivered a lecture on the integration of people with disabilities into society to the employees of the CSS (Department for the Elderly) of Leninsky district. Some employees were crying during the presentation and said, "Show this film to young people and children; they should be taught how to live with people with disabilities and help them."

Besides, several lectures "The family, its structure, and roles in it" were conducted for social workers of the Zaporozhye region at the Institute of Professional Development. The issues related to building loving relationships in the family were discussed. Other topics addressed during the lectured included problems of integration of children with special needs in the educational system, issues of suicide among adolescents, challenges of migrants, etc.

                                  Collaboration with foreign specialists

Traditionally, the Centre organizes lectures of foreign professionals for post-secondary educational institutions. This year the students of Zaporizhzhia National Technical University (ZNTU), Institute of Management and Law (specialties "social work" and "international tourism") had a chance to attend lectures on issues of post-secondary education in Canada and restorative justice. The foreign professionals also participated in meetings with professors from the ZNTU. Additionally, our Canadian colleagues met with the local Rotary Club and visited various Mennonite organizations.

During the year, we hosted colleagues from various countries: Canada, Germany, Sweden, Romania, and the UK. One of the most significant events was the international conference "Problems of Ageing: European Perspectives," organized by the Centre on the basis of ZNTU. European colleagues visited the "Florence" centre and were deeply moved by the work that the employees spend with children with special needs. They wished our Centre prosperity and good luck. 

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