"There's still a long road ahead, but Toma's progress is truly inspiring!"

We first met four-year-old Toma at the Centre for Education, Rehabilitation and Care in Virovitica, where he has been attending for the past two years for physical therapy, music therapy with a psychologist, and occupational therapy. All of this is necessary because Toma was born prematurely, which has delayed his motor and speech development. Thanks to the support he receives, Toma is making significant strides, becoming more confident and versatile, shared his parents, Siniša and Marina Filipović.

"When Toma first started coming here, his motor skills were quite poor. He wasn't even crawling at that time; he had just learned to sit up. Today, Toma walks and uses pointing gestures to communicate. There's still a long road ahead, but his progress is truly inspiring," said Toma's mum, Marina. 

Despite his developmental delays, Toma enjoys playing with his twin brother, younger sister, and dad.

"Toma loves anything that involves excitement, running, and lots and lots of jumping. He's a cheerful and very playful child. When we're being wild, for him, the faster and stronger, the better! What can I say," shared Siniša, Toma's dad, with a laugh.

The Centre for Education, Rehabilitation, and Care in Virovitica is a public institution that provides education and care for children with developmental disabilities and offers social services to children with disabilities and their families.

Thanks to donor support, UNICEF has equipped rooms for speech therapy, rehabilitation, and psychology with didactic and other equipment, such as a treadmill.

"This is extremely important to us because many children are hypotonic, have immature postural and protective reactions, and are not very willing to move. When they step onto the treadmill, the surface moves them and encourages walking, helping them become aware of their steps and develop their muscles," shared physiotherapist Dino Zrnić.

As part of this collaboration, UNICEF has also provided professional development for experts who offer psychosocial support to children with developmental disabilities and their parents and caregivers.

"Training for our professional staff is quite expensive, so we can't send a large number of people. To keep young professionals here, in Virovitica, we need to give them opportunities for professional development. Lifelong education is crucial, and that's why this part of our collaboration with UNICEF is particularly valuable," said Stanislava Đurčević, director of The Centre for Education, Rehabilitation, and Care in Virovitica.

"For my profession, physiotherapy, especially for those of us working with children, investing in knowledge and skills is essential; it's the main part of our development as professionals," said physiotherapist Dino, emphasizing the importance of collaboration with parents:

"Part of our job is working with the child, but another, perhaps even more important part is working extensively with the parents. Our goal is to support and encourage parents to work with their child at home every day. I can't stress enough how important this is. One weekly session with a child for about 40 minutes can't replace the other six days if no one works with the child at home.”

Toma’s mum Marina agreed: “If something new happens, we discuss it immediately, see what and how to proceed, and how we should act. This advisory part means a lot to us. We get advice firsthand from a professional who works with our child, who knows the core of the problem and can immediately suggest what we can do."