18 Years Early Intervention
On the occasion of the completion of 18 years of operation of Amimoni’s Early Intervention program, on Saturday 24/09, an event was held at the facilities of the 1st KAPI Municipality of Ellinikon – Argyroupoli.
To start, Mrs. Paraskevi Bellou – President of the Board of Directors addressed a greeting and Mrs. Christiana Zotou – Amimoni’s Head of Coordination, describing the start of the Early Intervention program in 2004.
The event was coordinated by Mrs. Agapi Papadaki, Program & Development Manager, who presented the program, emphasizing its family-centered nature and the importance of holistic, personalized intervention. The Trainers Mrs. Eleni Vernadaki and Mrs. Melina Papalexi analyzed the structure of the program, emphasizing the goals, the evaluation, and the organization of the intervention (with examples of educational material). Then, Mrs. Ourania Zoi – Mitsi, Social Worker, referred to the integration process, the granting of allowances, school contexts, etc., while Mrs. Sofia Papageorgiou, Psychologist, emphasized the importance of counseling and analyzed the plan to set up parent groups.
This was followed by presentations by the program’s scientific collaborators. Specifically:
- Mrs. Maria Papatzikou – Physical Therapist (NDT/SI), spoke about the relationship of vision function with posture and movement, emphasizing the connection between them and pointed out the role of the physical therapy supervisor in Early Intervention.
- Dr. Nikos Kozeis – Vis. Prof. in pediatric Ophthalmology, University hospitals, Cleveland, USA, Director of Pediatric Ophthalmology Greece identified functional vision and diseases, focusing on CVI – Cerebral visual impairment (definition and characteristics). At the same time, he emphasized the role of neuroplasticity of the brain and the importance of Early Intervention for children with vision problems.
Finally, the parents who attended asked questions to the speakers, while at the same time they had the opportunity to get to know each other and exchange opinions and experiences.
