Aymuhammet and Abdulla - success story on early childhood development centres
Early childhood development centres in Turkmenistan give hope to children with disabilities
This is Aymuhammet, a seven-year-old boy from Turkmenistan, who had been diagnosed with a cerebral palsy at birth. We met him at the Early Childhood Development Center in Ashgabat. Along with some other two thousand children, Aymuhammet has used the Center’s services since its opening in 2015. The Center – established with the support of UNICEF – provides comprehensive services to children with developmental difficulties.
Aymuhammet could not sit and crawl properly. We obtained necessary technical aids and developed an individual plan for Aymuhammet; massage therapists also work with him. Our efforts made him capable of standing against a wall. Today, our achievement is the fact that Aymuhammet attends a mainstream school. Our dream for the boy was that he could start walking; however, for me the most important thing is that he could be integrated into society.
Thanks to the Center services, Aymuhammet is now able to attend a mainstream school. Aymuhammet likes learning and his teachers are happy with his involvement in the school activities.
Aymuhammet wakes up very early looking forward to a new interesting day to spend with his friends at school and with the family that dearly loves him. After school, Aymuhammet goes to the Centre where trained specialists work with him according to the tailor-made programme.
"Half of Aymuhammet's success is his parents’ love and support. Our services are available to all children with developmental difficulties. From the time of the Center’s opening, we have enhanced our efforts to roll out its services to all regions of the country. We develop an individual plan based on the needs of each child who comes to us. When the child’s development is normalized or developmental difficulties are reduced, we work with our partners in the education sector who enroll children in mainstream schools” – Sulgun Berdyeva, Director of the Early Childhood Development and Early Intervention Center.
Now we arrive in Turkmenabat to meet Abdulla who also attended the Early Childhood Development Center in this city. The Centre was established in early 2012 within a regular kindergarten. The Centre team develops an individual programme for each child with developmental difficulties based on the child’s strengths and needs, as well as on the needs of his/her family, aiming to help the child’s transition to the mainstream education system.
Abdulla, who has a cerebral palsy, has attended the Centre for several years. He had his sessions with the speech and physical therapists, a psychologist and a pedagogue three times a week. In addition, his family, together with the professional team, worked with him at home. After only a few sessions, Abdulla already began communicating and responding to his environment, catching objects and answering questions – for the first time in his life. Today Abdulla is an active and happy little boy who can serve himself and engage in activities. He likes music and his family’s attention. He attends a mainstream kindergarten, plays well with other children and can say what he wants.
“We came to the Centre when Abdulla was only two years and two months old. He was not able to do anything. The child could only lie on his back. We began attending the Centre and saw how other children attended and benefited from the Centre. My son started to imitate other children’s movements and step-by-step communicate with them. Eventually, he began making some sounds and eat better. Now he can walk well. I am very happy with what my son has achieved due to our work with the pedagogues, speech therapists and psychologists.” – Leila, Abdulla’s mother.
These centers are already very popular among parents, early childhood development professionals and decision makers due to the significant results, which positively affect the children’s future. The National Concept on Developmental Pediatrics and Early Intervention, as well as the Early Childhood Development Programme also contribute to successful implementation of these services in the country.
“Aymuhammet's and Abdulla’s success story is the hope for all children and families who need early childhood development services. Based on the gained experiences and lessons learned, we discuss with the Government the ways to roll out these services throughout Turkmenistan, so that every child can enjoy life, go to school and become a valuable member of the society.” – Siraj Mahmudlu, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Turkmenistan.
