Twenty-two children with severe and complex disabilities of Ialoveni district can attend a general school with inclusive practices, as their mates, and benefit from individualized assistance. Fifteen of these children, aged between 6 and 16, went to school for the first time on October 25. This became possible owing to the Inclusive Education Unit, which is a service of educational support created at the Theoretical Lyceum “Petre Stefanuca” of Ialoveni town, IPN reports.
The Inclusive Education Unit started work on September 1 this year. The service was inaugurated on October 25. Attending the inaugural ceremony, Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Stela Grigoras said the school inclusion of children with severe disabilities is an important step for Moldova and the Inclusive Education model should be developed all over the country.
The new service has halls outfitted with modern technology that facilitate the learning process for children with severe disabilities. All the halls of the Inclusive Education Unit are accessible to children with physical disabilities. The team of specialists, which consists of a coordinator, five support teachers, a psychologist, a logopedist, two kinetotherapists and four personal assistants, daily offers support to children according to programs adjusted to the needs and potential of each child.
A part of the students with disabilities enrolled at the Theoretical Lyceum “Petre Stefanuca” go to lessons in the lyceum classrooms, while other children, who encounter bigger difficulties, learn in the classroom of the Unit, which is outfitted with furniture that can be adjusted to the individual needs of the children. In the polyvalent hall of the Inclusive Education Unit, the children benefit from individual teaching support, including by through an interactive whiteboard, game therapy and activities that develop creativity. The kinetotherapists help the children recover physically, including by hydrotherapy. The sensor room is outfitted with equipment that stimulates the vision, hearing and the sense of touch of the children with disabilities.
The Inclusive Education Unit is now a model of inclusion and ensuring of access to education of children with severe disabilities, which can be replicated within the national education system. The service was created by the British foundation Lumos in cooperation with the Ialoveni District Council.
