Inclusive centers for children with special needs opened in Arkalyk

According to the Department of Education of Kostanay region, more than 560 children with special educational needs live in Arkalyk, including 118 children with disabilities. At the same time, today the existing network of special organizations, where a special child can get free help from specialists, is clearly not enough. In the city of Arkalyk, 376 children need professional help from specialists.

Timely and qualified advice and assistance from specialists can change the life for the better and give a chance for a decent and successful future for any child, especially a child with disabilities.

The project «Different-Equal: development of an inclusive society in Kazakhstan» is implemented by «Dara» Private Fund with the support of the Social Projects Development Foundation «Samruk-Kazyna Trust».

«The new PPC has the necessary modern equipment: complexes for physical therapy classes, a Montessori room, didactic and visual materials, educational and methodological literature, as well as software that allows for a comprehensive assessment of the child's development and monitoring the effectiveness of the classes held», says Saule Beksultanova, a representative of the Dara Foundation.

The center employs such specialists as a speech pathologist, a psychologist, a speech therapist, a typhlopedagogue, a physical therapy instructor, and a social teacher.

«The services of the Psychological and Pedagogical Correction Office are provided free of charge. The course of correctional care lasts from 3 months to a year, if necessary, the course can be extended. In a year, such an Office can provide services to 150 children with special educational needs. It is very important that such Centers are located within «walking distance» from the family where the special child is growing up. Therefore, with the support of the group of companies of «Samruk-Kazyna» JSC, they are opening not only in regional centers, but also in small settlements», says Ulan Dzhanzakov, representative of «Kazpost» JSC - head of the postal communication hub in Arkalyk.

In addition, on the same day, a resource center for inclusive education was opened on the basis of the A. Kunanbayev gymnasium school. The Resource Center for Inclusive Education is a part of the school space created to help teachers implement the principles of inclusion in the educational process and to create a barrier-free atmosphere in the classroom and school for children with special educational needs.

Recall that the «Dara» Foundation has been implementing the project «Different-Equal: creating an inclusive society in Kazakhstan» in Kostanay region since 2016, and during this time, a psychological and pedagogical correction Office and a class for blind and visually impaired children, opened on the basis of a comprehensive school of the city, have been opened and successfully function in Kostanay.

With the support of the «Samruk-Kazyna Trust» Foundation, 15 Correction Offices and 16 Resource Centers have already been opened almost all over Kazakhstan.