In September, specialists from the Regional non-profit social organization “Center for Curative Pedagogics” (CCP) spoke at the VIII International Rehabilitation Forum in Saint Petersburg. The programme included the congress “Rehabilitation in the 21st Century: Traditions and Innovations” and several conferences on support for children, adults, and residents of psychoneurological residential institutions (PNIs).

Maria Sisneva, Clinical Psychologist at the Specialist Training Programme Department “Osoboe Detstvo (Special Childhood)” of the Regional non-profit social organization “Center for Curative Pedagogics” (CCP), on selected outcomes of the social-psychological training for preparing persons deprived of legal capacity for the restoration of legal capacity, which CCP and the Department have conducted for nine years:

In 2023, of 15 training participants, 13 had their legal capacity restored by the court (full or limited); two received refusals. All had prior institutionalisation experience in residential care, ranging from 1.5 to 36 years. Adults whose capacity was restored have successfully integrated into society: they completed vocational training, found employment, moved to independent living, and exercised their right to obtain housing.

Olga Karanevskaya, Speech and Language Therapist / Special Needs Teacher at the Specialist Training Programme Department “Osoboe Detstvo (Special Childhood)” of the Regional non-profit social organization “Center for Curative Pedagogics” (CCP), on the use of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) among PNI residents:

Up to 40% of people living in PNIs do not use speech as their primary means of communication. “Unfortunately, they have very few means to communicate. In some cases, if people are literate, they may have a phone or a notebook. Otherwise, there are no other options.”

Within the project “New Opportunities — New Quality of Life,” surveys were conducted in PNIs to identify the material and staffing conditions, as well as the competencies of specialists, needed to implement AAC. The team also developed and piloted a rapid assessment to determine AAC needs among residents and proposed a flexible model for selecting AAC tools.