„Something in common – something different“

The Nordplus project of the Bæjarhraun Training Centre

The training centre in Bæjarhraun is participating in a Nordplus project which focuses on the philosophy and approaches to service provision for disabled people, with the main idea of the collaboration being to exchange experiences from daily work. It is a two-year collaborative project between three countries, namely Iceland, Lithuania and Norway, entitled „Something common – something different“. Staff and service users from the three countries are active participants in the project and take turns visiting one another. At the beginning of the summer, there was a visit to Lithuania.

Field trips and active participation

The group went on field trips, including to the Traku Service Centre, where beekeeping is a key activity and emphasis is placed on service users taking part in the associated work. Among other things, the honey is processed and the wax is used for candle-making. Emphasis is also placed on crafts, such as woodworking, visual arts, basket weaving and sewing. The service users there are also offered fitness classes. The group also visited Jonava Activity, a day centre for adults with disabilities. Some service users live there and others are in short-term stays. The “Communicating with Pictures“ approach was presented, which gives service users the opportunity to develop their expressive and communication skills. The centre also offers various types of functional training, such as sensory stimulation in specialised rooms, a fitness centre, work facilities, and drama activities, which are a great favourite with the service users. They put a great deal of effort into the play, 'Meadow of Happiness', which they wrote themselves and performed for the group. The performance moved the groups greatly; it was particularly well-produced and performed with great emotion. Participating in canvas bag painting was a fun experience, unleashing their creativity as they stamped paint onto canvas shopping bags decorated with fruit and vegetables.

Teaching methods for children with intellectual disabilities and blind children

The field trip to Kauno Prano Daunio was very interesting; it is a primary school for children with developmental disabilities and blind children. It began with presentations from several teachers who spoke about the philosophy used there. The school provides general education, as well as offering hydrotherapy and physical education. What the group found most striking on this field trip was learning about teaching methods for blind children; at this school, a highly specialised „Braille word processor“ is used, for example. Various other things were looked at, but these field trips stood out. The trip to Lithafen was very informative for the service users and staff and was a success in every respect.