Inclusive education for blind children. 3

Until recently, blind children could be educated exclusively in the conditions of special schools, which in Ukraine there are only 4 (Lviv, Kiev, Odessa, Kharkov). In 2011, the Lviv Regional Fund of Social Protection and Recovery of the Blind – USI organized inclusive education for blind children outside a special boarding school.

During 2011-2017, we organized and provided inclusive education for many other blind children from Lviv, Dnepropetrovsk, Nikolaev, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Volyn, Kherson, Ternopil, Kirovograd, and Cherkasy regions. Since 2011, we have created many innovations that allow blind children to study in ordinary schools. For example, at the National University "Lviv Polytechnic" a Resource Center for Educational Information Technologies for Persons with Special Needs was created, which deals with the publication of relief-point books, the production of textbooks in the "daisy" format, the training of regular school teachers to work with a blind child in an inclusive class, Production of cartoons and movies with audio CDs for the blind, providing such children with additional didactic means (voiced balls, relief maps, instruments for lessons etc).

The first case of inclusive education of a blind child was awakened by the dreams of many parents, whose families were born children with severe visual impairments. Many parents and teachers from different parts of Ukraine addressed us. In an effort to help them, the organization twice submitted to the Ukrainian Philanthropic Marketplace projects, as a result of which together they collected 293 850 UAH (see these projects you can here). For these funds, 15 Braille printing machines, 17 netbooks, and 1 screen access voice program were purchased. The listed technical means are equipped with workplaces for blind schoolchildren in 11 oblasts of Ukraine.

Based on the experience gained and the search for solutions, we developed a Ukrainian model of inclusive education for blind children, approved by the Minister of Education. The Ukrainian model is based on the experience of the Scandinavian countries, in particular, Sweden, with which we cooperate since 2007. Based on the results of this cooperation, it was possible to organize the training of Ukrainian teachers at the Stockholm Institute of Special Pedagogy and the Svefi Academy in 2016, to organize about 300 scientific, practical and educational Events in all regions of Ukraine without exception, to purchase expensive technical equipment for the publication of relief-point books and relief graphics, to introduce in Ukraine a special format for litas DAISY for slim users. Due to years of active work, the development of new directions in inclusive education, the search for answers to new challenges, the Ukrainian model of blind children's inclusion is improving, bringing its effectiveness, vitality and success. Its main result is the success stories of many blind children receiving education in ordinary schools in towns and villages of Ukraine.

Today, about 550 children study in 4 boarding schools for the blind. This number is one-third less than in 2014, which indicates a growing desire of parents for inclusive education. The state is meeting these families. However, both normative documents need to be improved, taking into account the following: firstly, the size of the subvention for one child is 23,000 UAH, and only 20% of this amount can be used to purchase special technical means, the cost of which for nosology of the blind is considerable (only Braille typewriter Costs 19 000 UAH); Secondly, so far in Ukraine no one teaches the teachers of mass schools to work with children on nosologies in conditions of inclusive educational space.

We solve both problems starting with 29.05.2017, the refresher courses "Organization of an inclusive and individual form of education for children with severe visual impairment" at the National University "Lviv Polytechnic", and equipping blind schoolchildren from different cities of Ukraine with special technical means (Braille Typewriter, laptop, "daisy" player, relief maps and didactic materials, Braille books etc.).

The donors of the UBB site provide active assistance in overcoming the existing challenges: thanks to the collected funds, it was possible to significantly increase the number of blind children and save more than one family from separation from their children. We count on the non-indifference of the citizens of Ukraine and Europe and hope for further financial support for the project, which will allow us to acquire a series of new technical means and thereby provide the opportunity to train more than one blind child without separation from the family nest and parental warmth.

Help make this project a reality!