Review of effective support to strengthen the autonomy of people with intellectual disability Erasmus Project

Project Title

Review of effective support to strengthen the autonomy of people with intellectual disability

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Disabilities – special needs; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

While some services referring to formal education for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are well established and financed from education and medical sector, some services like non-formal lifelong learning require further development. There is a constant need of creating better and more complex services/lifelong learning programs especially for adults with ID. Despite the fact that persons with ID need more support to gain new and maintain acquired skills they are often deprived of educational opportunities after reaching adulthood.
The project was created as a response to daily experience of professionals working with adults with intellectual disabilities in 4 partner countries (Poland, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic). The Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability (PSONI) works for the benefit and on the behalf of persons with ID living in Poland, their parents and legal guardians. The mission of Rytmus from Czech Republic is to make it possible for people with ID to pursue active involvement in the mainstream environment – in employment, at school and in the place where they live. The areas of intervention of the IL CERCHIO Cooperative from Ravenna, Italy are: Minor and Childhood, Disability, Elderly. The Cooperative is proactively organized in terms of service design, offering innovative services in order to bring benefits to the whole community through the improvement of the quality of life of users and their families. The Association for Help to People with Intellectual Disabilities in Slovak Republic (ZPMP v SR) main objective is general support of activities and measures aimed in favor of children, youth and adult people with intellectual disabilities.

The main issue that partners confront in their everyday work is “how to effectively support adults with intellectual disabilities on their way to independent life and autonomy?” Main issues chosen in the project were:
1) Supported employment
2) Supported living arrangements
3) Cooperation with parents of people with intellectual disability
4) Support in the process of mourning after parents death
5) Parenthood of people with intellectual disability
6) Leisure time activities, social network
The main objective of the project was to exchange good practices in above mentioned 6 topics and create a review of effective methods to provide know-how for adult educators working with adults with intellectual disabilities. This exchange of good practice enabled adult educators to provide more adequate and complex support for their clients. Knowledge on efficient methods of supporting the autonomy of people with ID was collected during project activities (national partner activities and 5 transnational meetings). Review of good practices is presented on projects’ website along with the recommendations for further development (www.respid.eu).

Professionals working in facilities for people with disabilities are overcharged with responsibilities and often deprived of professional contacts and networking process. Main issues identified in adult education for professionals working with people with ID are lack of networking facilitation, lack of training, lack of external support. The project had the objective to create professional contacts and network between adult educators from different countries.

Partners guaranteed that persons with intellectual disabilities could speak for themselves during project activities. Participants with ID played active role in creation of partners’ presentations of target subjects. They were invited to transnational partner meetings and shared their life experience in accordance to the motto “Nothing about us without us!” Some of their experiences are presented in the form of short videos.

As a result of project activities adult educators, persons with ID as well as social workers, other professionals involved in the project improved and recapitulated their knowledge about effective methods of strengthening the autonomy of persons with ID. The impact on the target group of people with ID, especially those taking active part in project activities (participants of meetings, video creators), strengthened their and self-esteem, which in effect lead to increased independence and motivation to improve their basic skills.
An offer of high quality learning opportunities, tailored to individual needs was improved and extended thanks to project activities.
Project activities, managed by each partner, involving different actors in social sector, had the goal of filling a knowledge gap on the specific theme of autonomy of adult persons with intellectual disabilities in all life fields. The long term impact of the project is a creation of a network of professionals interested in developing of new, innovative methods for strengthening the autonomy of adults with ID.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 35900 Eur

Project Coordinator

Polskie Stowarzyszenie na rzecz Osob z Niepelnosprawnoscia Intelektualna & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Cooperativa Sociale Il Cerchio soc: coop:
• Rytmus
• Zdruzenie na pomoc ludom s mentalnym postihnutim v Slovenskej republike