Specialists from 13 cities of the country are trained in sensory integration

NUR-SULTAN, August 16, 2021 – With the support of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), a three-week training of 28 specialists began under the program "Sensory integration and child development. Therapeutic approaches based on sensory integration". The aim of this training is to ensure that all specialists learn effective methods for the rehabilitation of children with developmental disorders.

The participants of this program are psychologists, defectologists, speech therapists, doctors, physical therapy trainers, scientific and practical organizations, mental health centers, public and charitable foundations, and rehabilitation centers.

Starting on 2 August, the course participants were given access to self-study materials, which were further divided into six sub-groups to discuss the clinical cases of six children. The last week of training, from 16 to 20 August of this year, was held off-line in the city of Almaty.

Specialist in physical rehabilitation, director of the ANO "Physical rehabilitation" (St. Petersburg) Dr. Ekaterina Klochkova and neuropsychologist, specialist in body-oriented practices, expert of the speech therapy center "Territory of Speech" (Moscow) and the center for curative education (Moscow) Maria Shapiro purposely flew from Russia to conduct lectures on the theoretical foundations of sensory integration and practical classes.

After the training, on the basis of the knowledge and the materials obtained, participants will jointly develop a sensory integration program for the full early development of children and stimulation of their growth. Next year, it is planned that specialists will be trained in the fields of education, social protection and healthcare working with children with autism spectrum disorder and mental and behavioral disorders in all regions across the country.

According to UNICEF, "early childhood care, protection and stimulation can accelerate brain development, increase children's learning ability, help them develop psychological resilience and allow them to adapt to change."

Sensory integration is the process by which the brain processes and organizes information received from human sensory systems (vision, hearing, taste, sense of smell, tactile sensitivity, vestibular sensation, proprioceptive sensation).

The term “sensory integration” was first coined by the renowned American psychologist and occupational therapist Jean Ayres in 1963 to describe how impairments to sensory processing can be expressed in various behavioral problems. Programs for the early detection, development and integration of young children through the development of a multi-disciplinary approach are part of the Cooperation Program of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and UNICEF for 2021-2025