The Meeting of the Council on the Problems of the Disabled

The Administration of the region hosted a meeting of the Council on the Problems of the Disabled and Senior Citizens chaired by Deputy Governor Oksana Loboda. The meeting, which took place in the format of videoconferencing with municipalities, considered the issue of organizing inclusive education as the most advanced system for teaching children with disabilities.

Today Smolensk region provides necessary conditions for inclusive education and successful socialization of children with disabilities - from preschool to professional education.

For four years, the Center for Psycho-Medical and Social Support has been housing a special school called “lekoteka” providing individually designed classes for preschoolers with disabilities, and since 2014 the "Sensory Garden" has been working there for the preschoolers. In the region, there are 72 preschool groups of compensating and combined type, in which 685 children are being taught. Children who are unable to attend kindergartens, as well as children living in rural areas where there are no pre-school institutions, receive a monthly allowance of 5,000 rubles from the regional budget.

Since 2009, the regional Education Center for children with special educational needs has been housing a center of distance learning for the disabled children. The learning process is based on an individual approach to each child. This academic year, 213 children with disabilities have been taught here.

Currently, most municipalities have consultation centers, where specialists provide methodological, psychological and pedagogical assistance to parents free of charge.

Since September 1, 2016, all the educational organizations have introduced the Federal State Educational Standard for Children with Disabilities. As of March 1, 70 first-graders have been taught according to the new standard.

During the discussion, the Council members paid special attention to the execution in 2016 of the subprogram "Accessible Environment" of the regional state program "Social Support for Citizens Living in Smolensk Region", designed for 2014-2020. It was noted that during the past year, 41 social facilities were equipped to be accessible by the disabled, a dispatch center for the deaf was set up at the Smolensk complex center of social services for the population, and various rehabilitation equipment was purchased.