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A workshop entitled "Problems of Social Adaptation of People with Special Educational Needs” was held at ASPU on October 20. The event initiated by the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of ASPU.
The workshop was attended by representatives of partner structures, specialists of the field, professors, and students.
Siranush Karapetyan, Dean of the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education, stressed the importance of the workshop, noting that they will try to reveal a number of issues in the field, discuss and single out issues related to adultsin particular.
Professor Karapetyan says for some time now inclusive education has been organized smoothly in Armenia. However, problems of people with special educational needs continue to be the focus of attention of various specialists. Also, there are still a number of unresolved issues, including those connected with their social adjustment.
The speaker also stressed the importance of identifying these problems in early childhood, especially in preschool educational institutions, organization of appropriate pedagogical and psychological support, and management of the aforesaid problems in the system of general education. “Everyone has the right to education: even partial inclusion of persons with disabilities in the higher education system can be considered a great achievement. Yet, there are many issues, such as social adaptation of people with disabilities, job selection and the like which will be discussed during the workshop in order to outline future steps and the continuation of the workshop," added Siranush Karapetyan.
Hayk Kochinyan, a representative of the "Way to Happiness" organization, and a lawyer of the RA Chamber of Advocates, hailed the workshop and wished that the Pedagogical University, which is a key institution in the field of inclusive education, continue its uninterrupted and fruitful activity.
Hayk Kochinyan is convinced that the questions raised during the meeting will help to effectively implement the tasks and goals set before us. Mr. Kochinyan confesses that he will hardly be able to surprise the leading specialists in the field in terms of theoretical and practical knowledge, but he is ready to share best practices by example of his organization.
In his speech, the speaker presented the history of establishment and development of the "Way to Happiness" NGO.
Let us add that earlier this year a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) was signed between Armenian State Pedagogical University and "The Way to Happiness" charity NGO which enables the two establishments under question to carry out joint research, organize students’ learning process, seminars and roundtables.
Nelly Hunanyan, a lecturer of the Chair of Logopedics and Rehabilitation Therapy, presented the activity of the “My Way” Educational, Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Day Care Centre in Yerevan which provides socio-psychological support to persons with autism. She considered her report to be a methodological guide from the point of view of organizing work in the classroom.
Lilit Karapetyan, Assistant Professor of the Chair of Special Pedagogy and Psychology, spoke about task analysis and the stages of cognitive development. Nune Madoyan, an art therapistat at the “My Way” socio-rehabilitation day care center for children and teenagers with autism, dwelt on positive effects of fairytale therapy in practice, while Aren Alaverdyan, an ASPU graduate and a representative of the Yerevan Special Educational Complex for Children with Hearing Disorders, spoke about problems that people with hearing impairments encounter in Armenia.
MA students of the Faculty of Special and Inclusive Education also made reports during the workshop, focusing mainly on inclusion of students with disabilities in RA universities, as well as presenting statistics on the level of public awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities.
The speeches were followed by a heated discussion and a Q&A session.
