In Armenia it is common for children with disabilities of pre-school age not to attend kindergarten or any educational institution.
In Armenia it is common for children with disabilities of pre-school age not to attend kindergarten or any educational institution. First of all, their parents feel stressed to take them out because of their disability, and secondly almost no pre-school establishment takes children with problems as they do not have skills to work with them. Hence, these children often stay segregated, or have to attend special schools with similar ones.
To end this practice and include pre-school age children into education and provide early treatment, OSF-Armenia supports the operation of pre-school groups in the special schools for children with hearing and severe speech problems.
One of the children attending the center – a 5 year old girl, had a problem pronouncing most sounds and had no coherent speech. The speech therapists she had been seeing could not help her. Since mid-September she has been attending the pre-school group in the school for children with severe speech problems supported by OSF-Armenia. Now she can pronounce many sounds, make phrases and even simple sentences.
“My child had communication and speech problems since early childhood. Not once I resorted to the services of speech therapists, but they said it’s late to intervene and help her. I heard about this center and decided to try”, says her mother. “Presently I am very happy with her results, and am very grateful for this opportunity. Now my child does not avoid company and is able to utter simple sentences. She will even recite a poem at the New Year Party”, continues the woman with delight.
Currently there are 13 children in the two pre-school groups who also record similar progress.
“When the child started attending our group, her vocabulary was very limited; her words sounded more like baby talk. She was either mispronouncing many sounds or leaving them out. Additionally, her attention, memory and thought processes were problematic”, – remembers Gayane Marukyan, the speech therapist working with her. “Due to extensive individual work now the girl is able to correctly pronounce many sounds, tell a picture with simple sentences. We hope that by September she will be able to attend the mainstream school near her home”.
Currently there are 13 children in the two pre-school groups who also record similar progress. The schools continue outreach activities to inform the communities about the opportunity and involve more pre-school age children who may need their assistance.
Tags: Activism, Disabilities, Teaching
