In Lviv Oblast, families raising children with developmental difficulties or disabilities can get help from mobile team
Over six months of work, the specialists have helped 800 children with disabilities or developmental difficulties.
For more than six months, a mobile interdisciplinary team of specialists has been working in Lviv Oblast to help families with children with developmental difficulties or disabilities. This initiative is being implemented as part of a joint project by the Dzherelo Centre for Social Services and Rehabilitation in Lviv and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). In total, mobile teams operate in three regions – Lviv, Zakarpattia and Volyn.
According to Sofia Shykur, the coordinator of the mobile team in Lviv Oblast, they travel to the most remote parts of the region, where families mostly do not have access to social services. They collect requests from parents and schedule visits accordingly in order to maximise resources and help those who need it most.
“The team’s work begins with a screening of the child’s development, physical and psychological state. We also take into account the parents’ request, what they are most concerned about in the child’s development and behaviour. And based on this data, we draw up a support plan according to which we work with the family and the child. This may include several consultations with our specialists – a speech therapist, psychologist or physical therapist. Some of them are held online, others during face-to-face visits. We can also select and provide aids for children, such as wheelchairs, orthopaedic shoes, glasses, and hearing aids. Almost always we provide psychological support to parents and advise them on available services, assistance, rehabilitation measures and other things that their child can claim in the community,” said Sofia Shykur.
During these six months of work, specialists in the three oblasts have already conducted more than 1,300 developmental screenings and provided assistance to 800 children with disabilities or developmental difficulties.
What kind of help do the specialists of the mobile team provide?
- They conduct a developmental screening and draw up a plan to support the child.
- In accordance with the identified developmental difficulties of the child, they provide specialised services for children and counselling for parents.
- Select and provide auxiliary aids for children with disabilities and developmental difficulties (hearing aids, wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, orthopedic shoes, etc.)
- Provide information support to families about available resources and services in the community for children with disabilities or developmental difficulties and their families.
- Provide psychological support to parents raising children with disabilities or developmental difficulties.
Who can apply for help and how:
Families raising children with disabilities or developmental difficulties and in difficult life circumstances can receive assistance. These can be both community residents and internally displaced persons.
To contact the specialists of the mobile team in Lviv region for help, please call: 093 220 92 35
For reference:
The mobile team works within the framework of a project implemented by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) together with the Lviv Centre for Social Services and Rehabilitation “Dzherelo” with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the state development bank KfW as part of the UNICEF national programme “Better Care for Every Child”.