Today, the civilized world celebrates International Disabled People Day, which is both society’s demand to mercy giving and taking care of disabled people from one side, it attracts attention of the whole world to their problems of integration and socialization from the other.
Disabled people should receive necessary support during learning, training and labour activity in social life. The principle of disabled people rights equality was proclaimed in the Conventional rules of equal opportunities for disabled people.
According to the Law of Ukraine “On higher Education”, a person with special educational needs is a disabled person, who needs additional support for higher education obtaining; therefore, educational establishments must create optimal conditions to higher education access. It includes providing disabled person with special educational and rehabilitation accompaniment, and free access to the university infrastructure paying attention to vital functions restriction, predetermined by health state.
In correspondence with growth of students with special needs there is a necessity of contemporary approaches realization to carrying out social and pedagogical work, disabled students’ integration into educational and educative society. With this aim realization Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University together with Labour and Social Protection of Population Uman Council Administration created Social and Educational Integration Centre of disabled people (coordinator – Maya Perfilyeva, psychologist – Alyona Zavalko, volunteer –Anna Didenko).
The centre consolidates efforts of corresponding structural university departments, executive authority bodies, community organizations, directing their attention and support towards people with special needs, their adaptation to student and pedagogical collective, their integration into social and educational environment, creating conditions for self-development and self-realization, development of social activity, autonomy, responsibility and mobility of disabled people. The centre believes that integral system of social and pedagogical support of students with special needs will allow them to reach results both in educational, creative and professional activity.
The centre’s activity is various and active. The working timetable includes meetings with Labour and Social Protection Administration, charity organization “Charitable fund “Contemporary village and city”. There were discussed problems of social services for disabled of Uman, their social and educational integration, legal protection, access to information resources, social activity problems, mobility and professional realization of people with special needs. At one of such meetings in non-formal form disabled students introduced themselves, told about their interests and hobbies. As a keepsake, they received thread souvenirs – read hearts as a symbol of goodness, openness, and mercy.
The centre actively participates with City education department, general educational establishments’ specialists in psychological services. Recently, the centre coordinator participated in a meeting of creative group on basis of education department. At the meeting urgent problems of inclusive education, psychological and pedagogical accompaniment of disabled children in general education establishments were discussed.
In the framework of the Centre has been created and works scientific and research laboratory of pedagogical inclusion. Several sectors of the laboratory – research, international, educational and educative, social, psychological correction, medical and rehabilitation, cultural, volunteer – coordinated their activity for realization of the tasks. On the basis of the laboratory, candidate and doctor dissertations in integration problem might be carried out. Students and lecturers actively participate in International, regional, and district seminars and competitions. At preparatory stage the model of the centre took first place at II All-Ukrainian competition of students’ scientific works in social pedagogy and won at the regional stage of All-Ukrainian business plan competition of entrepreneurial business in 2014 for business plan “Social and Educational Integration Centre for disabled people” in nomination “Social project” (authors: dean of the department, candidate of pedagogical sciences, associate professor Oksana Kravchenko, candidates of pedagogical sciences Maya Perfilyeva and Oksana Shevchuk).
Our university representatives participated in XIV International scientific and practical conference “Urgent problems of people with special needs education and integration to educational space in the framework of UNO Convention about disabled person rights realization”, which was held in Kyiv.
Lecturers and PhD students were trained at Poland with the aim of foreign experience in inclusive education development popularization and had the possibility to study international experience of disabled people accompaniment, offer models of this experience realization at our university. In the framework of psychological correction realization the centre collaborates with Psychological Diagnostication, Training Technologies Research Laboratory Centre “Practical Psychologist Skills Improvement”.
Volunteer sector works actively too, students are attracted to volunteer activity in Student Social and Psychological service. The members of the university centre organized meetings with Social and Pedagogical Rehabilitation Centre of Uman several times. Students visited disabled children and brought them sweets, also they were watching videos, playing games and quizzes. In its turn, Social and Pedagogical Rehabilitation Centre invites students-volunteers to take part in their events.
On the occasion of International Disabled People Day, Social and Psychological Education Department organizes a photo competition under the title “Universal Design Paradoxes”, results of which will be announced in the middle of December.
At International Disabled People Day USPU representatives join the international initiative and wish all the people health, strength, facilities, and success. By protecting disabled people’s dignity we protect humanity and humanism. Let’s remember, disability is not a verdict.
