In this project, our target group is physiotherapists working in the clinic with infants and children. It is necessary to know the physiotherapists closely to understand the logic of the project. Physiotherapists are highly qualified health professionals who help people affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice. Physiotherapy “provides services to individuals and populations to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and functional ability throughout the lifespan”.
The basic level of physiotherapy given in undergraduate education is called “traditional physiotherapy applications”. Traditional physiotherapy practices do not take into account the development of the baby and the child, the characteristics of the baby with developmental risk and the characteristics of the mother and parents. There is no part of the world that is training an early intervention specialist in undergraduate education. For this reason, early intervention practices are provided by multidisciplinary approaches by physiotherapist, child development specialist and psychologist.
Our project aim is to strengthen the competences of physiotherapists about new approaches in early intervention system. To ensure this can be achieved, VETforEI will generate:
- A dedicated curriculum and relevant training material for the physiotherapists about play-based and family centered approaches in early childhood intervention (based on ECVET learning outcomes approach)
- An innovative online learning platform, that will allow for an interactive learning experience anytime anywhere (PC, smartphone and tablet), multilingual, and following the Open Source approach (so “free”), provided freely to the related target group.
- The country reports which shows the current system and approaches about early childhood intervention system in partner countries.
- The comparative report which the early childhood intervention systems of the partner countries will be compared.
In the context of VET for EI Project, Project partners developed a complete VET training course for physiotherapists on how to determine the babies which need a follow up; providing support for families in promoting their child’s optimal development and facilitating the child’s participation in family and community activities. All partners’ shared knowledge, experience and expertise composed a unique training program that gives an opportunity of increasing knowledge and qualification for physiotherapists as clinicians.
Different institutions and organizations have made projects about early childhood intervention in distinct areas: availability, proximity, affordability, interdisciplinary working and diversity. All of these projects’ common direction is about detection of the situation of Early Childhood Intervention in different countries. In all of these projects, one important aspect was missing: training of the trainer. This training should be specific and well targeted to the needs and should also be available for every clinician in everywhere. With VET for EI Project, we aim to find the best and practical solutions for physiotherapists working with babies and children –also with their families-. The focus of VET for EI is to highlight physiotherapist’s knowledge about 0-3 years babies and children development, determine and support the ones with special needs, encourage the active participation of families in the therapeutic process.