The psychologists of the Feldman Ecopark Centre for Psychosocial Rehabilitation together with animators and therapy animals came to carry out series of lectures to pupils from the V.H. Korolenko Special Teaching and Educational Complex in the International Day of the Blind.
The animators organized a celebration with games and entertainments, held quizes and competitions. The lessons in animal-assisted therapy were conducted in a playful way: visually impaired children guessed animals on touches and sounds. “Kindness lesson” for children wasn’t absolutely usual, because this time ponies and rabbits came to visit pupils of a gymnasium together with old familiar animal-assisted therapy dogs.
“We came to these children in the winter and conducted lessons in canine therapy, and in the summer they came to us and we added equine-assisted therapy to work with dogs. Today, we brought even more animals, having added fluffies (rodentia-therapy) – it is important for a kinesthetic sensory— the head of the Feldman Ecopark Centre for Psychosocial Rehabilitation Inna Vashkite told. — By enhancing the number of animals children communicate with, we increase for them a range of positive emotions during the lessons. It is important that the lessons were conducted on a regular base, the year round; in this case the positive rehabilitation effect will be strengthened. While it is cold for travel to Feldman Ecopark, it itself will come to visit the friends.”
It should be reminded that the Centre for Psychosocial Rehabilitation Feldman Ecopark cooperates with different organizations assisting children with special needs, in particular, with the Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children “Promin”, the Kharkiv Centre for Psychological Rehabilitation of Children, the V.H. Korolenko Special Teaching and Educational Complex etc. In addition to eco-therapy, the session lessons with participation of therapy animals are conducted in the territory of the Social and Humanitarian Multi-Complex within the “Kindness Lessons” project.
Besides, it should be reminded that a week ago the All-Ukrainian project in support of people with special needs “Feldman Ecopark unites: we’re the same” which is held under the patronage of the International Charitable Foundation “Oleksandr Feldman Foundation”.
