KARIN DOM CENTER FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

TRAINING AND RESOURCE CENTER

BULLETIN 2013

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Our Children

In 2013, we admitted to our programs 149 new children (99

from Bulgaria, 49 from the country and 1 from abroad). The

total number of children we worked with this year was 289 and

the number of group and individual sessions that our specialists

held exceeded 10 000.

163 children received treatment at the center, and the Early

Intervention program covered 126 children and families.

This year, 27 of our children were first grade pupils, 10 of them

were integrated into mainstream schools - with which the

number of integrated children is now 206!

Over the past 17 years since the opening of the center, the

services of Karin Dom have benefited more than 1,460

children and their families.

"Our child is calmer, self-dependent and has great developmental

improvement. We wholeheartedly thank you for working with our

special children with so much love and patience!"

Services for children

and families

We enriched our practice by introducing a new method for

Bulgaria - trampoline therapy that is suitable for children with a

wide range of special needs. One of the advantages of the

method is that the children perceive the sessions as an

enjoyable form of play.

Our specialists received training and introduced an Assessment,

Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children

(AEPS), which allows us to measure the progress of children

and the effect of therapy to best prepare individual programs

for each child.

Art activities are favorite to all children in Karin Dom, so in 2013

we created a special art workshop where children can develop

new skills while having fun.

In 2013 we worked hard to provide new and diverse services

to the children attending Karin Dom, and to children and

families from all over Varna!

Services for children

and families

In the summer children again attended swimming therapy – it’s

fun in the water, and besides, it helps develop and improve

coordination, breath control and many other skills.

Our Montessori club for children from 2 to 5 years of age, which

started in 2012, is now full-time and received very good

feedback from the parents.

"Mom and baby playing together" are our new playgroups for

moms, dads and their babies aged 0 to 3 years, where we give

parents practical advice in the form of fun games and exercises.

This year we also took care of the adults and built in our yard a

special sports playground for adults where they can make

exercises and have fun.

"The diversity that Karin Dom offers was beneficial for my child ...

and the aid you provide us with, gives positive results."

The training was interesting, served in an accessible manner, with

extreme caution and patience to us by our colleagues from Karin Dom.

Simply said - thank you! I will feel more secure

and confident in my future work.

Training Center

We conducted trainings for nearly 500 experts from 47

organizations in the country who work with children with

special needs. We organized a series of thematic meetings for

parents reaching more than 200 mothers, fathers and relatives.

One of the most significant events organized by Karin Dom in

2013, was the International Conference on Autism, which was

held from 10 to 12 June at St. St. Constantine and Elena resort

and brought together nearly 300 guests - parents and

professionals from Bulgaria and abroad.

In 2013, experts from the British special school Spring Common

School, who are our partners, visited Karin Dom and shared

their experience in trampoline therapy and communication with

children with special needs.

In 2013, we put an emphasis on the development

of our Training center, the first step was to

expand our training team.

Recognitions

Karin Dom was again elected to the Management Board of the National Network for Children - an association of over 150 NGOs working to safeguard the rights and welfare of children. The expertise of Karin Dom made us a desired participant in the working group at the Ministry of Health to develop a methodology and financial standard for the Center for Early Intervention. We are happy and we share the joy of our chairman Mr. Ivan Stancioff on the awards received during the year: Special prize of the Bulgarian Donors' Forum for personality contributing to the development of charity; honorary doctorate ("honoris causa") from the New Bulgarian University; the honorary award of Tulip Foundation for contribution to volunteering and a plaquette from the Lions Club Varna and Lions Club Varna –Academics for life devoted to charity.

Thank you, friends from Karin Dom, for your dedication

to your work and your big hearts!

Holidays and events

As part of our Eco calendar we celebrated the Earth Day, the

Day of fruitfulness, and we were awarded a diploma, a medal of

honor and a cup at the annual Autumn Festival in September!

In March we celebrated the International Down Syndrome Day

- children from Karin Dom and Varna kindergartens and schools

colored cards with patterned socks (symbol of the day), which

we gave as presents to the doctors and midwives from the

maternity wards in the city.

Children's Day and the Day of Talents were cheerful and bright

as ever. We thank all our volunteers who made children's

holidays unforgettable and full of smiles!

"I was most impressed by the warm welcome, smiling and

welcoming people working here and the wonderful conditions."

This year Karin Dom turned 17! On this occasion, we organized

together with the children from the Center, a festival entitled

"Bulgarian Folklore" and had fun with many of our friends.

and confidence in our abilities!

We wish you a Merry Christmas

Karin Dom would like to thank all parents,

donors and friends for the appreciation

and a Happy New 2014!

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