Iris Day Center

The Iris Day Center operates daily providing personalized services to children and adults with visual impairments and additional disabilities (MDVI), from 5 years of age and older. Each beneficiary’s program includes educational activities, therapeutic interventions, at an individual and a group level as well as outdoor social activities and entertainment.

The purpose of the Center is the cultivation of daily life skills with the following main directions:

• the utilization of the innate cognitive potential of the beneficiaries
• self-service
• mobility and orientation in the surrounding area
• learning social skills

The Center has been operating at the Decommissioned United States Air Force Base in Elliniko since 1995, providing services to 42 children and adults.

The operation of the Center is based on the provision of comprehensive education to the beneficiaries, through the construction of a personalized daily educational and therapeutic program, which includes:

• Sessions of occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, music therapy and adapted gymnastics.
• Educational activities in the handicraft, recycling, gardening and educational kitchen workshops.
• TEACCH programmes, visual education, Braille, orientation and mobility, swimming and therapeutic riding programs.
• Outdoor activities of a social and recreational nature in mass catering and recreation areas, environmental theme parks and commercial stores.

The care of the Center’s services is not only focused on children, but also extends to the family environment, as the interaction between the two factors is undeniable.

Social and psychological services operate on a daily basis at the Center, supporting the beneficiaries and helping their families with counseling guidance.