“Hip Hop” inclusion of blind and visually impaired children into regular educational systems

The “Hip Hop” project is envisioned as a program of support for preschool children, carried out on an one-on-one basis with both children and parents with a principle of experiencing the world through play and through all senses.
The start of the ”Hip Hop” project is traced back to 1997 when the playschool named “Experiencing the world through senses” for visually impaired and visually healthy preschool children, later renamed “Hip Hop” playschool, began its operation. The playschool program was carried out within the Homer association’s workplace till late December 2004. Continually 20 children were enrolled in the playschool program, while yearly approximately 60 children were involved in the “Hip Hop” project, baring in mind that within the “Hip Hop” project we do not count merely those enrolled in the playschool during a particular school year but also those involved in the “Hip Hop” program – inclusion of blind and visually impaired children into regular educational systems. The workshop operated according to world standards, 5:1 ratio, meaning, on 5 visually healthy children one visually impaired child. After the professional consultancy received from the Sensis Association from Netherlands in December 2004, an association that offers services to blind and visually impaired preschool and school children, it had been determined that the “Hip Hop” playschool played an important part in raising public consciousness and awareness that blind and visually impaired children can be successfully integrated into educational systems with visually healthy children. Furthermore, the Sensis Association determined that the “Hip Hop” project fulfilled all educational standards required for the inclusion of visually impaired children within groups of visually healthy children. Thus, it has been decided, since the playschool has reached its goals, to end the playschool program as such and move to the next level of the “Hip Hop” project. In fact, the Homer association continues to carry out the “Hip Hop” project, following practices of European non-governmental organizations, with direct involvement and professional consultations in families of visually impaired children in order to readily enroll children in regular kindergartens and make sure that those kindergartens achieve educational standards for their future development. The latter will be enabled with pedagogues, physiotherapists, psychologists and other experts working individually with every family.        

 

Long-term goals: Continuous social and work integration of visually impaired children within a visually healthy group of children with a final goal to fully integrate visually impaired children into educational social and work system.

Short-term goals:

• Enrollment of visually impaired children that participate in our inclusion program, in regular kindergartens,
• Enrollment of visually impaired children that participate in our inclusion program, in the current 2005/2006 school year program,
• Encouragement of motor capacities, communicational skills, creativity, social awareness and emotional development of visually impaired children,
• Educating parents of visually impaired as well as visually healthy children in order to enhance their parenting role,
• Getting visually impaired and visually healthy children ready for a regular enrollment into schools.

Projected activities for the year 2005/2006 are:

• Engagement with visually impaired children in their homes,
• Educating visually impaired children and their parents to use the Braille letter,
• Education parents of visually healthy children through group and individual counseling,
• Printing and distributing the existing material.

 

Expected results: A continuous integration of blind and visually impaired children into the society. A developed social behavior and a higher degree of healthy empathy from visually healthy children. Educated parents of both visually impaired and visually healthy children.