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Example: How an prematurely born
child is taken care of
The child is born prematurely (e.g., in the 28th week
of pregnancy) and three months later mother and
child are in hospital again. The mother is concerned
about the health and the development of the child and
is looking for help. A physiotherapist and a psycholo-
gist (or a social worker) come to the family (home
visit). They talk to the mother, observe the child, and
suggest the best course for going forward so that the
baby can develop in an optimal way.
The physiotherapist trains the mother on how best
to play with her baby, which toys to use and how to
use them, etc. The psychologist supports the mother
in her intuitive mothering, helping her to manage her
own feelings and supporting mother-child interaction.
The professionals also talk to other members of the
family (father, older children), and together they try to
identify the actual needs of all family members and
ways to meet them. This becomes the basis for an
individual plan. For example: What is the next step?
What would be best for the older children? If they
need some help from grandparents, how can the ECI
centre help them? How often should the centre’s staff
visit the family?
If needed, other members of the professional team
will visit, such as a special needs educator when
visual stimulation is needed.
All centres cooperate closely with hospitals, paedi-
atric units, or more specifically neonatology depart-
ments in their region. This cooperation is formalized
through the Executive Committee of Neonatology
Society, which has issued a recommendation for
doctors to cooperate with ECI centres. In this way,
parents/children leaving medical treatment have a fol-
low-up service. The centres are also cooperating with
pre-school services, but there is still high resistance
regarding such inclusion.
FUNDING:
Private money prevails
SOCIA is a private foundation without public subsi-
dies or regular state donations. The establishment
and financing of the three ECI centres was funded
by SOCIA, with direct financial involvement from the
VELUX Foundation, which is based in Denmark. Two
additional centres will be opened later in 2016, funded
from the proceeds of a charity ball.
OUTLOOK:
The network should be
completed next year
Slovakia requires 20 to 25 Early Childhood Interven-
tion centres to offer an ideal accessible network for
all families with disabled children. To reach this goal,
SOCIA has initiated negotiations with representa-
tives of all eight regional governments, which are the
main stakeholders in developing and financing social
services on the regional level.
Such a flexible and accessible network would un-
doubtedly contribute to the creation of a stronger and
more confident group of parents, which in turn would
be better able advocate for the real inclusion of their
disabled children into society.
FACTS AND FIGURES:
A network has been started
• Currently, there are five Early Childhood In-
tervention centres with a total of 25 full-time
staff members
• The centres have a total capacity to serve
250 to 300 families on a regular basis.
• Five regional cities/communities were in-
volved in the development of the project.
• Besides the 25 full-time staff members,
there are 15 additional staff trained in prepa-
ration of the programme’s further expansion.
The team works in a transdisciplinary way. Each expert gets
to know the child and his/her parents