On July 4–6, 2012, the historically first basic course of Basal Stimulation took place at the social care institute in the small village of Vilšany in Ukraine, moving the concept of Basal Stimulation eastward in Europe. I would like to share with you, readers of the journal Sociální služby, my impressions from visiting this facility as well as information about how this concept was received in Ukraine.
The course was initiated by physiotherapist Mrs. Kateřina Ševčíková, who several years ago completed the basic and advanced course of Basal Stimulation organized by INSTITUT Bazální stimulace. She actively works with the concept of Basal Stimulation at the social care institute in Ukraine as a physiotherapist funded by the Czech foundation Bodaj, of which she is a member. Mrs. Kateřina has been applying the concept of Basal Stimulation to some children in this home for a year and has observed great progress in the children's development. Therefore, she initiated several negotiations, the result of which was the realization of the basic course of Basal Stimulation directly at the Social Care Institute in Vilšany.
Great support from the director of this home, Bohdan Kikina, INSTITUT Bazální stimulace, and the Bodaj foundation made it possible to implement this course. INSTITUT Bazální stimulace and the Bodaj foundation donated the course to the children's home as a sponsorship gift. INSTITUT Bazální stimulace brought and distributed small gifts, toys, and sweets to the children. The greatest benefit for the institute was the donation of positioning aids and small vibrators for somatic stimulation as part of therapeutic and pedagogical offerings.
When preparing to lecture this course, I did not know what awaited me in Vilšany. So I prepared aids and materials as for any other course, only I packed a Russian-Czech dictionary in my suitcase. For the first time in 22 years since my high school final exam in Russian, I appreciated my knowledge of this language, and for the first time I used this language for work rather than as a tourist.
Upon arrival, I received a very warm welcome not only from the director Bohdan Kikina, but also from the staff and especially the child clients. A warm and cordial atmosphere prevailed throughout all three days of the course. Each day after the course, we directly applied the learned somatic, vestibular, and vibration offerings to children with severe and profound mental retardation. The children's reactions were touching, immediate, and very positive. For example, after vibration offerings, the children's faces showed the expression of the 10th central life theme – Discovering the world and developing. Their facial expressions signaled a deep bodily experience, discovering something new, learning new sensations from their bodies, and subsequently tremendous joy. Some children laughed loudly and did not want to let go of the vibrators from their hands.
I ordered certificates for the course graduates from the International Association of Basal Stimulation®. For the first time in the history of the concept of Basal Stimulation, they contained text written in Cyrillic script in addition to German.
The author of the concept of Basal Stimulation, Prof. Dr. Andreas Fröhlich, was informed in advance about the realization of this course, and therefore wrote a short but very nice greeting to its participants. The course participants, including the institute's director, listened to it with interest. In return, the trained staff sent the professor a group photo with the certificates taken after the course as a greeting.
It was not easy for me to leave Vilšany after the course; I really liked the home, especially for the atmosphere that prevailed there. Although the children of the home live in very modest conditions in a dilapidated building that is far from being equipped like homes in the Czech Republic or elsewhere in Europe, the children are happy here, nursing care is thorough, and the children's nutrition is adequate.
The children do not suffer from any restrictive measures. The opportunity for education is at least minimally provided through the work of the educators employed here, who try to engage the children in artistic, theatrical, and physical activities in the mornings. With severely disabled children, they did almost nothing. Therefore, I tried during the three days to show them the way that, thanks to the concept of Basal Stimulation, even these children can be provided pedagogical support and pedagogical offerings suitable for their development. The advantage was that I trained both the staff providing nursing care and the educators simultaneously. The goal of the course was to teach them to cooperate together in caring for the children and to perceive the concept of Basal Stimulation as an interprofessional concept. I believe this was achieved.
Contact with the physiotherapist Kateřina Ševčíková continues after my return from Ukraine. It is she who informs me about the application of the concept to the care of individual children and sends me photographs. The following text describes how she herself evaluates the course.
Text: PhDr. Karolína Friedlová Praxisbegleiter für Basale Stimulation® in der Pflege, managing director of the accredited educational company INSTITUT Bazální stimulace, s. r. o., university lecturer – Silesian University in Opava, vice-president of the PALMA association (Professional Association of Internationally Accredited Lecturers)
The Course of the Historically First Basal Stimulation Course in Ukraine and the Reactions of Severely Disabled Children to This Concept
The Social Care Institute in Vilšany, Ukraine, is a facility for children and adults aged 4 to 35 years with a range of diagnoses. The small village of Vilšany is located near the better-known Kolochava in Transcarpathian Ukraine. On July 4–6, 2012, we had a great opportunity to experience something new. Thanks to completing the Basal Stimulation course, we were able to introduce new, modern, and life-easing elements of this concept into our practice. The course was held in cooperation with the organization Bodaj, o. s., and INSTITUT Bazální stimulace. It was led by PhDr. Karolína Friedlová, whose energy gave us encouragement and new motivation for our further work.
During three days, 22 employees of the facility had the opportunity to experience first-hand various situations that many clients with multiple disabilities face daily – rough handling, harsh and confusing touches, minimal communication. It is precisely these experiences that are the key to changing one's own attitude toward these people; thanks to this, our care can change and improve. The Basal Stimulation course offers steps toward changing one's own attitude toward people with disabilities. The experiential exercises were followed by explanations of theoretical knowledge and practice of practical skills. We learned how to handle situations differently, better, with higher quality, and especially with regard to the client. The course was a great success, and we immediately got to work.
Results appeared very quickly and are proof to us that we are relieving people with disabilities in their difficult lives. For illustration, I present at least two examples.
One 17-year-old girl with severe multiple disabilities has persistent digestive problems, experiencing severe bloating after meals that clearly causes her pain. We decided to try a calming somatic massage after each meal, and the result was very surprising to us. After each massage and subsequent positioning into a nest, her belly relaxed, the girl calmed down, and began to smile.
Also in the room with this girl is Oksanka, who is severely physically and mentally disabled. She often screams persistently, is dissatisfied, showing nervousness and restlessness. Our colleague Ljuba decided to try mummy positioning. She wrapped Oksanka in a blanket, and calming occurred within moments. The girl fell asleep with a satisfied expression on her face.
We are the first facility in Ukraine whose staff have completed a Basal Stimulation course. It is a great pleasure for us that we too can now count ourselves among the European countries that have introduced this concept into their care.
Kateřina Ševčíková Social Care Institute, Vilšany, Ukraine
(The articles were published in the journal Sociální služby, issue 3/2013)
Asociace poskytovatelů sociálních služeb ČR is an independent association of direct social service providers pursuing as its primary goal their development and the improvement of their standards.
Professional journal Sociální služby – 3/2013
The professional monthly Sociální služby is the most widely circulated periodical in the field of social services in the Czech Republic. It is published by Asociace poskytovatelů sociálních služeb České republiky (APSS ČR), the largest professional organization uniting providers of all types and kinds of social services in the Czech Republic. Its membership base currently consists of more than 720 organizations, representing over 1,600 registered services.
The journal Sociální služby was founded in 2009 through the transformation of the former APSS ČR newsletter. It is published ten times a year on 36–48 A4 pages in a print run of 3,500–4,000 copies for approximately 16,000 readers from among social service providers, founders, and users, representatives of public administration, students, and university faculty both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
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