Disabilities

For two years Fondation Dora has supported the International Catholic Child Bureau or BICE to establish an inclusive education programme in Russia; the goal of the project was to grant proper access to quality education for children with intellectual disabilities.  The partner responsible for the local programme was the Centre for Curative Pedagogics or CPC

The programme was centred around the following themes:

The design of methods adapted for support toward schooling

The alternative communication method Makaton was developed and broadly distributed within the framework of the project. A method of preparing children with disabilities for school was published along with a methodological guide on inclusion practices for museum visits. 

The interviews and observations conducted by the BICE and by the CPC confirm that the Makaton-trained professionals now use this method in their daily work with children with disabilities. This method helps prepare children for school integration as well as their future schooling. A specialized teacher who uses Makaton in her work, expresses the following:

“It became possible to discuss with the children who had begun to understand abstract ideas, like the seasons, for example. We could speak with them and not only about daily-life things like food, sleep, etc. We were able to move forward, broaden the vocabularies of both the children and the adults.”

Strengthening skills of both professionals and parents

More than 1800 professionals benefited from training and consultations as well as participated in conferences on school inclusion for children with disabilities. In-depth support work was held with 3 public schools, 13 residential facilities, and 6 museums, with whom a road map to inclusion was created. The evaluations conducted with teachers confirmed their approval and acceptance of these methods of inclusive schooling. The school children’s parents also noticed an improvement in the support and well-being of their children. In this way the programme created better conditions for school inclusion. Another remarkable cooperation was the training of 400 collaborators from 6 Moscow museums that wished to make their museums more inclusive. 

Preparation for schooling of children with intellectual disabilities and their families

Out of the 51 children in the preparatory programme for schooling, 34 were ready after the first year of preparation and 17 needed a second year considering the complexity of their disability. For the children who were already in school, teachers gave very positive feedback on their behaviour in class, their ability to listen and to learn, as well as their interactions with classmates.  

While the preparation for school groups of children was in process, the CPC continued to lead groups of “preparation for school” with their parents. Parents were informed about their children’s rights to an inclusive education; they also received psychological and legal support.  

Conclusion

The work completed over the last two years made it possible to change the perspective of professionals, parents, and other children on inclusive education. Introducing the Makaton method into schools has given children with disabilities the chance to communicate with their teachers and their classmates. The opportunities offered to the children to participate in school trips, along with visits to museums and other shared extra-curricular activities has enabled the families to feel more integrated.