I participated in the pilot project ALKA - Assistant as a kind friend organized by the Early Intervention Centre Košice, n.o. as an assistant of a 3-year-old boy with special needs in a regular kindergarten. The boy had significant impairments, especially in socio-communication skills, and his parents perceived that he needed to attend a regular peer group where he would have the opportunity to learn to engage in play and interact with different children and adults.  Inclusion in the nursery was seen by all of us as a very important step for his further development. 

The process of inclusion was very challenging. During the course of the project, we understood that this goal required a very high level of joint cooperation between all involved (in our case, the professional team of CVI KE, n.o., the Private Centre for Special Educational Guidance, the kindergarten and the parents). The mere presence of an assistant, no matter how kind and understanding, is far from enough to ensure this goal.

I had no experience of working as an assistant to a child with a disability in the past. So it was very helpful from the beginning that I was not alone. In addition to the support team of CVI KE, n.o., I had support from the primary school where I worked (special educator, psychologist, class teacher). I perceived it as important that these actors had a clear goal together with the child's parents. It was primarily about the socialisation of the child - getting him/her involved in the collective so that the child feels accepted and happy.

Initially, I spent all my time with 'my child'. However, together with the other members of the team, we discovered quite quickly that my presence with the child was rather counterproductive to his involvement in the collective. The child was isolated from his classmates by my presence, indirectly stigmatized and singled out. The class teacher and I communicated a lot, and through the gradual steps we planned together, we achieved that the teacher had the space to be more attentive to "my" child, while I was available to the needs of the other classmates. There are many children in the classroom who may need help during the day...  Through this and other targeted activities, we have gradually managed to integrate the child not only into the shared activities within the classroom but also into the group itself.

The ALKA project took us back to the first 3 years of a child. Thanks to it we understood how important the first years in the life of a family are for the further development of the child as well as the overall functioning of the family. 

This project emphasized the importance of SUPPORTING a child with developmental difficulties in the FIRST YEARS of his/her life. 

The integration of a child into a group of other children is extremely important for his/her development, but it is a difficult process. Parents need to know how to change their normal parenting strategies to those that will enable them to prepare their child for the environment of kindergarten and later primary school.

The ALKA project has helped us to realise the importance of finding effective methods to support the development of the child and his/her family in the first years of their life together.

After the end of the project period, the ALKA project team members decided to continue in two different directions. Part of the team saw it as important to look for effective ways to support the development of developmentally vulnerable children in their early years and to spread awareness of the importance of the early years in the lives of all children. And other team members realized that their priority was to spread the word about the need to change traditional societies into inclusive ones. To bring inclusive access to all communities...

Based on the results of the project, the team of the Early Intervention Centre Košice, n.o. decided to focus its attention on increasing the availability of early developmental support for children at risk in the first years of their lives in the locality in which it operates - in the city of Košice and the Košice surrounding district. From 1 January 2023, the Centre started to implement its strategic project FIRST STEPS/YEARS.