Issues of rehabilitation of people with disabilities were discussed by social workers from the Smolensk and Vitebsk regions
The forum was held within the framework of the Agreement between the Administration of the Smolensk Region and the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Cooperation. Employees of the Territorial Centers for Social Services for the Elderly, Day Care Centers for Disabled People of the Vitebsk Region, and employees of rehabilitation centers in Smolensk learned about innovative forms of work on the rehabilitation of children, disabled people, and elderly citizens used in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.
The participation of specialists from the Smolensk region was held remotely. Colleagues from the Gerontology Center and the Rehabilitation Center for Children and Adolescents with Disabilities "Vishenki" in Smolensk, and the Territorial Center for Social Services for the Population of the Polotsk District shared their experience in social adaptation, rehabilitation of people with disabilities, and the implementation of innovative technologies.
Specialists from the "Vishenki" Center presented a system for working with parents of children with disabilities, as this is a problem that affects all aspects of family life. Often, parents in such situations find themselves helpless, and relationships between family members become deformed. The main goals of social workers, psychologists, and educators are to help the family in raising a child with a disability, promote its optimal functioning, and mobilize all possibilities for the rehabilitation process.
Within the framework of the forum, a competition for the best project on current issues of adaptation, rehabilitation, integration, and deinstitutionalization of people with disabilities was announced. The first participants were Ekaterina Lazovskaya, Director of the Territorial Center for Social Services of the Vitebsk District, who presented the project "Virtual Reality Rehabilitation," as well as 3rd-year students of the Faculty of Social Pedagogy and Psychology of VSU named after P. Masherov, Elena Shmidra, Valentina Kruk, and Olga Zhavnenko, who presented their social projects aimed at the rehabilitation and socialization of people with disabilities. The competition results will be announced at the regional event dedicated to the Day of Persons with Disabilities.
An agreement was reached between the forum participants to continue cooperation and implement a project to create an information and methodological platform. Access to it will be provided free of charge to both Russian and Belarusian colleagues.
The performances of children's groups from the Smolensk region and pupils of the Bogushevsk boarding school for children with disabilities with psychophysical development peculiarities left unforgettable impressions on the forum participants.