1. The «Healthy Lifestyle» program  In October, the specialists of our center were again invited to the local schools to continue the training aimed at uniting the groups and the development of communication skills in children. In particular, the teachers of fifth grade, seeing the effectiveness of such activities for the children, came to a decision that they should be carried out on a regular basis.
Participating in this kind of engaging lessons, children learn to be self-aware, find a common language with each other, work together to solve the tasks. The teachers are concerned with and sympathetic towards the new forms of work for the kids. The fact that more and more teachers come to us with requests for assistance in conducting parent guidance meeting is another indicator of confidence in our staff. Intensive work on the prevention of fetal alcohol syndrome is promoted. 50 lectures for schoolchildren have been delivered by now in Zaporizhzhye. Children enjoy listening to new material and take an active interest in the subject. 2. Social events  The focal point of this month was the "Happy child – happy family” Forum that gathered parents of children with special needs, representatives of organizations working in this area, as well as local authorities, in the palace of culture n.a. Kirov on October 3, 2013. The objective of the forum was discussing ways of improving the lives of people with special needs. The central figures of the Forum were parents of children with special needs, who told of how they make their children and family happy, despite the problems they face. The official part of the Forum was opened by Lyudmila Romanenkova, the head of "Florence", who appealed to the meeting with a welcome speech. A musical composition performed by the musical arts school №1 teachers, Svetlana Koshel and Tatiana Partykina, was a pleasant surprise for everyone. An important part of the Forum was the speeches of parents of children with special needs, who spoke about the difficult situations in families due to the disability of their children. But the most soulful were the words of mothers, addressed to other parents: "Our children are the best! Enjoy every day spent with your child! If he is happy, we are as well. And it is our task, dear parents, to make our children happy! Do not give up, move on!" Spoken with tears in their eyes, these words have helped many parents to see their situation in a new light and not to give up. All Forum participants had the opportunity to become better acquainted, exchange information on the work of different organizations and discuss ways of improving the lives of people with special needs. At the end of the Forum everyone could put their questions to the staff of the integrative children's complex "Kinderförderverk”. 3. Collaboration with foreign experts This month we were visited by our foreign colleagues from Germany and Canada. Dieter Dammering and Oliver Wering’s visit (Magdeburg, Germany) was dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the "Kangaroo" program. A number of events was organized: - the "Happy child – happy family” Forum; - the parent guidance meeting; - a presentation with D. Dammering at the local TV; - home visiting the children together with the foreign experts; - meeting potential partners and sponsors. Florence and Otto Dridger (Regina, Canada) have also visited «Florence» Centre. The Canadian specialists delivered several lectures to the students of Zaporizhzhya National Universities and Zaporizhzhya National Technical University (major in «social work» and «international tourism»). 4. The «Kangaroo» program The purpose of the "Kangaroo" program is early social and physical habilitation and rehabilitation of children with special needs aged 0 through 6 years. For a month, 11 children attended sessions under the program. The results of work with every child were analyzed, development goals for the next month and methods of achieving them adjusted. In the course of this time two newcomers began attending the program - Maxim V. (psychoverbal delay), and Kirill (Down syndrome). Our German colleagues, Oliver and Dieter, have spent a considerable amount of time working together with the staff of the "Kangaroo” program. They were present at the classes and met with the children attending the center. They easily had a way with almost every child. After that Oliver made several suggestions as for the new approaches to children’s education and upbringing. As the result, after the departure of our colleagues, the following changes have been implemented: we have divided the group into two subgroups according to their overall level of development, do more individual work with each child. A parent guidance meeting was held on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the "Kangaroo" program. At a meeting Oliver presented to the parents commemorative T-shirts for their children. At the request of the parents Oliver Wering visited several families at home – Maxim , Sasha, Alina and Dasha - giving them advice on what activities are best to carry out at home. They were grateful for the attention paid to them, alternative methods of communication suggested, advice on how a child can better feel his body (Oliver proposed wearing ankle and wrist weights). In our turn, we began teaching Sasha and Yarik according to the PECS technique of alternative communication. The entire staff of the «Kangaroo» has learnt much useful information on working with children, and enjoyed communicating with Oliver and Dieter greatly. Children, too, were glad to meet the guests. 5. «We are just like you! This month, Zaporozhye National Technical University volunteers visited the social rehabilitation school. A football match between the kids was held. For boys it is the favourite form of work and leisure. | 
