Community Approach for adults working on pREvention of disability in yoUng children - CARE4U

By implementing this project we proposed to support families affected by children’s disabilities, by addressing their identified needs and contributing to each area of action: - establishing a net...

By implementing this project we proposed to support families affected by children’s disabilities, by addressing their identified needs and contributing to each area of action: - establishing a network of specialists and organisations in Timisoara and Szeged that will work together to offer a more integrated approach for handling cases of children with disabilities - learning opportunities from good practices implemented in other contexts (international, public-private services) for specialists and parents - offering personal development opportunities tailored to caregivers in order to help them open their horizons more, and avoid social isolation, and at the same time help them become better advocated of their family story - creating the basis for a support community of families and specialists that will foster mutual support on the long term - aggregate helpful information on disability in a single reference point to help guide caregivers in their search for answers - raise public awareness on the life situations of such families, in order to normalize and foster empathy and support.

The project activities were implemented in accordance with the approved funding request: 1. Local networks and working methodologies were developed in Timisoara and Szeged. In both locations, the registered and recruited specialists participated in 6 and 5 working meetings, respectively, during which they jointly created the working guide for early intervention. 2. 2 exchanges of good practices between the 2 partners, hosted by each, in which the participating specialists and parents had the opportunity to observe and take over relevant good practices. (Activity 2 and 4) 3. Personal development/counselling groups for parents/caregivers facilitated by psychologists took place in both partners. 5. Storytelling sessions including digital, communication and English language skills adapted to the needs of the registered parents took place in both partners. 6. The project leader developed a web platform to serve as an online connection and contact environment for the emerging community as well as an aggregator of relevant information. 7. Both partners presented the project results to the local communities in a final event.

1. Establishment of the network of xxx people of [cd1] local specialists, organizations and caregivers working together to support children with disabilities. (in Romania and Hungary) 2. Guide/methodology for an integrated community approach to early prevention and intervention of disability in children, including a model of activity at the zoo provided by the Hungarian partners, developed in 3 languages: Romanian, Hungarian and English. 3. Online platform containing all relevant information and project results and continuing to be updated after the project is completed. The platform also contains all educational materials developed for parents. It also provides continuity to the project through the forum created as a digital support for the mutual support community. 4. The result of the storytelling package is a video that tells the story of the family caring for a child with special needs and what their needs are. In Hu, six videos were produced that present families with development tools related to various areas, which they will use in their daily lives.