Мултидисциплинарна грижа за приобщаване на ученици със спина бифида и хидроцефалия

Spina bifida and hydrocephalus are among the most complex birth defects compatible with life. Together, they often result in a combination of impaired mobility, loss of sensation, incontinence and cognitive difficulties. To cope with the health and learning challenges, students with these diagnoses need comprehensive support at school and kindergarten, which provides them with the proper care and the highest possible standard of education and inclusion. Although most of these children attend mainstream schools and that inclusion is among the European priorities in terms of education, to be successfully and effectively included these students need targeted multidisciplinary efforts of all stakeholders in the educational process led by students' needs. Due to the rare prevalence and complexity of spina bifida and hydrocephalus diagnosis, the needs of this group of students often remain unidentified, creating persistent barriers to their inclusive education. Without access to effective inclusive education, this group of students is at risk of not developing their full potential, which in the long term can have lasting negative effects on the degree of their independence, social participation and access to the labor market.

Our aim was to improve inclusion and safe participation of learners with spina bifida and hydrocephalus in the mainstream educational system, including schools and kindergartens, with a focus on the partners’ countries - Bulgaria and Slovakia, but also on an international level. In order to achieve our goal, we supported the main stakeholders in the inclusion process, providing them with access to specific knowledge and skills through which they can develop their professional and personal competencies and support, as a multidisciplinary team, the students with spina bifida and hydrocephalus in overcoming the barriers to their right to education. The stakeholders identified by the project partners were the eight target groups of Teachers; Principals of schools and kindergartens; Special educators; Psychologists in schools and kindergartens; Nurses and health workers in the school/kindergartens; Assistants; Parents and family members; Students with spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

To support stakeholders, in the context of their specific roles and functions in the learning process, we developed a set of information materials on inclusive education and multidisciplinary care aimed at the eight target groups. Each of the Multi-IN information resources examines the specific barriers and needs of pupils with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, in the context of the role and competencies of the particular target group, presented in the relevant professional language, and according to their opportunities for impact. The developing teams of the Multi-IN products included representatives of each target group, along with specialists in the care and support of children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Meeting different perspectives, in the field of inclusive education and summarizing the world's knowledge, made the Multi-IN information resources a practical and effective tool, which supports directly the representatives of the eight target groups of the project. In the first year of the project, we developed the information materials in a reading format - manuals in .pdf. In the second year, based on the manuals, we also created training video courses. We created a trilingual website that joins together all the Multi

The information resources that we created to support the multidisciplinary care and inclusion of students with spina bifida and hydrocephalus include a set of manuals and information materials, in .pdf format, as well as 8 educational videos. The full Multi-IN set contains: 1 pc. General guidelines on inclusion and multidisciplinary care, aimed at all interested parties, incl. the wide audience; 8 pcs. Manuals on inclusion and multidisciplinary care, aimed at each of the 8 target groups of the project; 1 issue "The Path of Inclusion" - shared experience in education of students, parents and professionals from Bulgaria and Slovakia; 8 educational videos on inclusion and multidisciplinary care, aimed at the 8 target groups of the project. All Multi-IN products are available in a trilingual version – in Bulgarian, Slovak and English. The videos are subtitled and dubbed in each of the languages. They are available on the educational website created within the project, which contains other useful information materials related to the topic of inclusion. In addition to the website, in order to build a Multi-IN community and disseminate the results, we created a profile on social networks and YoutTube.