On September 22, 2022, Moscow hosted the Round Table “Overview of the results of the Portage Pilot Project” at the State Budgetary Institution of the City of Moscow “City Psychological and Pedagogical Center of the Department of Education and Science of the City of Moscow” (SPPC).
More than 35,000 children with developmental disabilities receive assistance annually in 27 territorial branches of the Moscow GPPC. We consider this institution an example of how a family support system should be built within walking distance. After rehabilitation, the wards of the center enter ordinary kindergartens and schools. And even when longer rehabilitation is required, the quality of life of children and families with such a child as a whole improves significantly!
The team of specialists makes every effort to meet the needs of the family as much as possible, and this is an invaluable contribution to the development of society, including the prevention of social orphanhood, work with parental burnout, and much more. The specialists of the center make a daily contribution to the well-being of society.
In 2021, with the support of the Diema’s Dream Charitable Foundation, 22 GPPC specialists were trained to work with the most severe and multiple developmental disorders (SMND) of children using the Portage method.
Now each team member can teach a child more than 640 life skills: infant skills, cognition, speech and communication, self-care and socialization.
22 specialists and 24 children took part in the Pilot Project. The main task during the project was to train the specialists themselves and develop their practical skills in following the Portage principles, as well as mastering the materials: Checklists, Activity Tables and Activity Cards. An important result was the experience of involving the parents of children in the process of developing skills.
At the event, the reports of the pilot teams on the work done were presented. Colleagues from the Portazh practicing teams of the Skolkovskiy State Budgetary Institution of Health Care, the Formula of Growth State Budgetary Institution of Social Resources, the Windrose of the Winds State Budgetary Institution of Social Resources, the Doverie Regional Center of Obninsk also made presentations on the results of work in their institutions.
In just 6 months of the project, 24 children with SMDD in HPPC acquired 105 life skills. This is an excellent result on the way to independent living and socialization.
As noted by the Project Manager Oksana Ilyinichna Kuznetsova; “The most important thing is the kind of support that best and fully meets the needs and demands of the family. And the Portage method allows you to give the family just such support. Parents are happy with the result.
Participants of the pilot project noted that at the beginning of the project, some parents were anxious to take part in correctional and developmental activities. Parents hardly believed that they could handle it. After a few weeks of classes, all family members joined them, and this is exactly what strengthens the family and gives the child support, a favorable environment for development and overcoming psychophysical limitations.
Portage teaches not only the child. The principles of this method allow both parents and specialists to build their attitude to the child, to the work process in a new way and provide the most effective toolkit.
At the end of the event, all participants of the pilot project were awarded with a letter confirming the successful completion of the pilot project stage and colleagues of their experienced teams, coaches and consultants of Portage welcomed them into the ranks of experienced professionals.