A charity organization tells how children with cerebral palsy are taught to read

MOSCOW, October 7 – RIA Novosti. Specialists from the educational autonomous non-profit organization "Center" teach reading to children with cerebral palsy using a new method, the organization reported.

World Cerebral Palsy Day falls on October 7 this year. “In Russia, a program has appeared for teaching reading to children with severe motor impairments (including cerebral palsy), as well as speech impairments. It was developed by Irina Efimova, a speech pathologist at the charitable educational organization OANO Center. The program was tested on five children with severe motor impairments, and all of them learned to read in a short time,” the message said.

As Efimova noted, conventional methods of teaching reading are not suitable for non-verbal children with severe motor impairments. “We need an individual path for everyone. And in the case when a child cannot answer orally or type on a keyboard, we first find an alternative way of communication for the child, and then select material for mastering reading along with special tasks to level out impaired development,” says Efimova, whose words are quoted in the Center.

For example, a student Dina from Tatarstan was previously mistakenly diagnosed with “profound mental retardation”; the Center purchased an eye tracker for her (a device for controlling a computer using your gaze).

“We connected an additional tablet so that Dina could use it as a keyboard. In a few months, she not only mastered reading, she learned to type sentences and can now express her thoughts. In essence, we give non-speaking children who cannot use their hands the opportunity for the first time to fully communicate with their family and the outside world. Students have a real chance to receive a school and, in the future, a professional education,” Olga Blagodatskikh, director of the Center, is quoted as saying in the message.