On October 28, in Kaluga, on the basis of the State Budgetary Institution of the Kaluga Region “Kaluga Rehabilitation Center for Children and Adolescents with Disabilities “Dobrota”, an Orientation Session will be held.
The specialists of the Center were trained in the basics of the Portage method and principles. An introductory session is needed to form a team, select the children who will participate in the pilot project, and outline the immediate goals and objectives of working with families.
The pilot project will last several months until the team’s specialists have mastered all the principles of Portage in practice. This is important to ensure a positive result of the application of the technique.
At the pilot project stage, a Portage specialist takes 1 child with mild or moderate developmental disabilities and accompanies him and his family. The first two months will approximately be spent on diagnosing skills, of which there are only 624 on the checklists.
At the beginning of the training cycle, specialists and parents will determine long-term and short-term development goals. Sometimes mom has a request – so that the child learns to eat with a spoon on his own. But the child does not know how to hold any objects in his hand at all. Therefore, to achieve a long-term goal, short-term goals are set. For example: “Hold an object in your hand for 15 seconds with the support of your mother.” Further, support will decrease, time will be extended … By small steps, the child will surely come to success. Proper goal setting also increases the competence of parents and makes them and professionals successful.
We wish success to our colleagues and look forward to the results of the pilot project!