A collaborative project on services for people with disabilities

The training centre in Bæjarhraun is a participant
in an Erasmus+ project on ideology and approaches in the provision of services for disabled people
people. This is a two-year collaborative project between three nations, i.e.a.s.
of Iceland, Lithuania and Hungary entitled „Communication is the
“path to integration„ or “Communication is the path to integration".

Emphasis
on the use of unconventional communication

The training centre has had
The activities of the year 1991 have emphasised strengthening service users with
long-term support needs in the use of alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). In most
In some cases, they have used the Bliss language since childhood, which consists of
about 5,000 symbols used for communication. They are used as pictograms on a board and/or in
laptops and tablets which are often controlled, for example, with an eye-gaze device or
headset, it depends on the user's mobility. The first part of this Erasmus +
a project took place in Lithuania last May, where the three nations met in
weekly period; four from Iceland, three from Lithuania and three from Hungary. There
Various interesting service options were presented.

The group
Visited Hafnarfjörður last week

The second part of the collaborative project was held
in the past week, here in Hafnarfjörður and in particular at the Training Centre. There
The group was introduced to the communication training, the Snoezelen philosophy,
Intensive Interaction and Guided Support (GTI) among others
on working methods and organisation. The group also received a presentation from Rannveig
Einar's daughter, Head of the Family and Child Services Department at Hafnarfjörður Municipality, about
Hafnarfjörður as a whole and the services of the municipality. Hrönn Hilmarsdóttir,
The Head of the Disability Services Department presented the council's services to
disabled people. In addition, the groups were invited to presentations at various service centres.
of the town as well as elsewhere in the capital region. Third and final part
The project will take place in Hungary in the spring of 2020 where the group will receive
an introduction to, among other things, the ideology and approaches used in the provision of services to
disabled people in that country.

The group's journey to Lithuania

Here is a video made following the visit to Lithuania in May 2019. A video of the trip from the perspective of Sigurjón, one of the service users.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMithyqEIho

More detailed
Information for those interested in unique service options

• AAC = https://www.isaac-online.org/english/home/
• Bliss = http://www.blissymbolics.org/
• Snoezelen = https://snoezelen-professional.com/en/
• Intensive Interaction https://www.intensiveinteraction.org/
• Serving
  guidance (GTI) = https://gentleteaching.com/