Armenian children with disabilities enter mainstream education
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Children cut ribbon to officially open the Child Centre of World Vision Armenia Talin Area Development
Programme.
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org
World Vision MEERO, http://meero.worldvision.org
Twenty children with disabilities in Talin town, Aragatsotn Region, northwest of Armenia, attended public schools and primary educational institutions this September after being treated
at the newly opened Child Centre of World Vision Armenia Talin Area Development Programme.
The Centre is the only professional facility for children with disabilities in Talin town and surrounding villages where the children receive support from a psychologist, art therapist and speech therapist, and their parents receive counseling from a social worker and legal advice.
'Through Child Centres World Vision aims not only to support the integration of children with disabilities through a number of services but also seeks to change the attitude of the communities towards them,' says Marina Hovhanissyan, child protection programme manager of World Vision Armenia.
At the official opening of the Centre, the Mayor of Talin town, Mnatsakan Mnatsakanyan, emphasised the importance of the community members in the process of integration of children with disabilities into mainstream education.
The Centre was established within the Talin Municipality Kindergarten, which enables children with disabilities to communicate with their peers and integrate into kindergarten activities.
The Centre will also provide training sessions on modern trends of assessment and identification of child needs for the specialists of Child Protection Unit of Aragatsotn Regional Administration.
'Our joint efforts will bring more professional care to the children with special needs of our region,' says Gayane Danielyan, head of Child Protection Unit of Aragatsotn Regional Administration.
The Centre is the only professional facility for children with disabilities in Talin town and surrounding villages where the children receive support from a psychologist, art therapist and speech therapist, and their parents receive counseling from a social worker and legal advice.
'Through Child Centres World Vision aims not only to support the integration of children with disabilities through a number of services but also seeks to change the attitude of the communities towards them,' says Marina Hovhanissyan, child protection programme manager of World Vision Armenia.
At the official opening of the Centre, the Mayor of Talin town, Mnatsakan Mnatsakanyan, emphasised the importance of the community members in the process of integration of children with disabilities into mainstream education.
The Centre was established within the Talin Municipality Kindergarten, which enables children with disabilities to communicate with their peers and integrate into kindergarten activities.
The Centre will also provide training sessions on modern trends of assessment and identification of child needs for the specialists of Child Protection Unit of Aragatsotn Regional Administration.
'Our joint efforts will bring more professional care to the children with special needs of our region,' says Gayane Danielyan, head of Child Protection Unit of Aragatsotn Regional Administration.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
