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International Birth Defects Information Systems
Omni-Net Ukraine Birth Defects Prevention Program

International Birth Defects Information Systems


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Continuation of international partnerships regarding training special needs children rehabilitation specialists

Serhiy Lapchenko
OMNI-Net Information Coordinator

During August 27 - September 4, 2007 in Rivne Early Intervention Educational and Social Rehabilitation Center for Special Needs Children "Pahinets" there was held a seminar-training "Bobath Concept in Correction of Neuro-Motor Developmental Disorders in Children". The training has become the next step in the series of training activities supported by our partner - Ukrainian Special Needs Orphanages Fund (Virginia, USA) - in the frame of the OMNI-Net initiative regarding early intervention programs implementation. The co-organizer of the training was Education Department of Rivne City Executive Committee.

The training activities were conducted by Barbara Hodge (instructor-coordinator of Neuro-Developmental Treatment Association, Boston, US) and Linda Kliebhan (instructor-coordinator of Neuro-Developmental Treatment Association, Wisconsin, US). Among the training participants there were specialists of the "Pahinets" Center, Volyn Regional Children's Territorial Medical Center, Volyn Regional Specialized Children's Home, Rivne City Territorial Center of Medical and Social Rehabilitation of Disabled People, Rivne Regional Clinical Diagnostic Center named after V. Polishchuk and Rivne Regional Center of Medical and Social Rehabilitation of Children with Central Nervous System Impairments (11 specialists in total). They mastered methods and techniques of assessing children with neuro-motor developmental impairments, estimating the possibilities of their development and rehabilitation as well as conducting rehabilitation activities.

Barbara Hodge with a Ukrainian patient        Linda Kliebhan with a Ukrainian patient
Barbara Hodge (left) and Linda Kliebhan with Ukrainian patients

During the lectures and lab activities instructors B. Hodge and L. Kliebhan demonstrated the possibilities of neuro-developmental treatment (Bobath therapy) working with children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and some other congenital pathologies.

The training participants highly appreciated experience and skills of the American instructors and expressed their gratitude for the disinterested help to our specialists in mastering effective methods of correction neuro-motor disorders in children for the benefit of Ukrainian children health.

Some training participants
Some training participants

Based on the training materials OMNI-Net specialists prepared training video films which were distributed among the participants for continuing their training.

US guests also visited the Volyn Regional Specialized Children's Home and had a possibility to know the needs of its specialists in continuing trainings. One of the activities could be introduction of remote teaching and teleconsultations.

The recommendations received from B. Hodge and L. Kliebhan include holding regular oblast and interregional working meetings of rehabilitologists and close collaboration of rehabilitologists with child neurologists and orthopedists to improve correction of movement functions in cerebral palsy children.

Date of report: September 27, 2007

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