Ilsur Metshin: “We will create the conditions necessary for effective education of children with intellectual disabilities”

In the Sovetsky district of Kazan, the second training apartment in the city for children with intellectual disabilities was opened. It was operated in test mode since autumn. Fifty-three children were trained in two apartments from September to December 2023. To date, classes in the appartment on Minskaya Street are held for five families – they are attended by both children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and their typically developing siblings. Specialists teach young Kazan residents simple household skills and help build healthy relationships with relatives. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, got acquainted with the process of socialization of special children today.

“Thanks to the head of the district, the second training apartment has already started working in the Sovetsky district. Another such space will soon open in the Kirovsky district. It is necessary to open such apartments in each city district to help parents and children with intellectual disabilities,”– the Mayor said.

The Simply Different project is supervised by a team of specialists. Four employees work in the apartment every day – a supervisor, a curator and two senior specialists. Four tutors and students from Kazan Pedagogical College and Kazan Medical University also help children.

The two currently available apartments in the city “Path to Life” are jointly managed by the administration of the Sovetsky district and the Municipal State Educational Institution “Simply Different” – the premises were allocated by the municipality. The second facility was opened with funds from the Presidential Grants Fund – the public organization won the competition and received seven million rubles for the implementation of its project. By autumn, the old three-room apartment on Minskaya Street was renovated and began to operate in a test mode.

According to Svetlana Safiullina, the head of the training apartment, thanks to the opening of the second facility, it was possible to increase the age threshold – now children aged 16 to 18 can visit it. In addition, the coverage of the target audience has expanded – from 60 to 150 people – and the number of training areas has increased.

In the second training apartment on Minskaya Street, children with ASD and their siblings receive household, creative and professional skills. Thanks to spending time together, they become closer to each other, typically developing children stop being shy of their relatives.

In a training apartment with an area of more than 63 square meters, children learn the usual things: cleaning, washing, sewing, cooking. The development of these skills will allow them to become more independent.

Several areas of artistic creativity are also available to children with ASD in the new apartment. Children can choose to draw using the ebru or sand technique, laying out diamond or aqua mosaics. Children also create candles and plaster products, which are then exhibited at charity fairs. The children are also taught computer literacy, they have already mastered the program for creating drawings and photo processing.

The Mayor of Kazan presented the curator of the project Svetlana Safiullina with a certificate in the amount of 100 thousand rubles for the purchase of equipment.