COMMUNITY SERVICES CENTER FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

The Center was established in 2016, through a collaboration between the Municipality of Durrës and the organizations Save the Children and "Help Life", which continue to support the Center's activities.

The center provides community-based services for children with disabilities aged 2-21, with the aim of achieving their full inclusion in kindergartens, schools and the community, working not only with the children but supporting the entire family.

The services that the center offers are:

1. Direct services for children with disabilities.
   Children are worked with in the areas of behavior, communication, autonomy, education, academic and motor skills. Individual intervention plans are developed and reviewed by a multidisciplinary team consisting of a psychologist, speech therapist, physiotherapist, social worker, developmental therapist and occupational therapist.
2. Empowering families of children with disabilities to work with their children and advocate for their children's inclusion in education and the community.
   

   The center is the only one in Durrës that offers this public service model, where the entire family is a beneficiary of services. Parents are informed about children's problems, how to help them develop at home, legislation, rights, etc. They are also provided with work programs with the child that they can implement at home.

   Self-help groups have also been created with sisters and brothers of children with disabilities, who meet every month with the center's psychologist and share emotions, feelings and common experiences.

3. Community awareness to support the inclusion of children with disabilities. 
   

   The center organizes a series of awareness-raising activities to share the message of inclusion and independent living in the community.

   The services provided at this Center directly impact the improvement of the quality of life of the beneficiaries and the community in which they live. Children with disabilities who benefit from therapy sessions significantly increase their communication skills, improve in the area of ​​personal autonomy, towards independent living, improve problematic behavior and become more social in the community.

   Also, parents of children with disabilities and their siblings receive ongoing information on how to manage children's problematic behaviors at home and how to contribute to the development of children with disabilities, thus improving the quality of family life.