The Early Intervention Centre of the Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability in Warsaw, founded almost 40 years ago, was the first facility in Poland, and one of only a few in the world, to introduce comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for young children with disabilities and their families. The Centre was created by theorists and practitioners of various specialities working together, out of concern for a holistic approach to the child with a disability, to therapy, rehabilitation and the family.
An important role was played by the parents of children with disabilities, who needed early, multidisciplinary, comprehensive and continuous care. The model was based on doctors of many specialities, psychologists, speech therapists, physiotherapists and special educators working together. This approach became a standard used not only when setting up further Early Intervention Centres across the country (there are now 33), but also by other facilities for children with disabilities that are not connected with our Association.
We specialise in the care of children from birth to 7 years of age whose development is not progressing typically at different stages of their lives. Our patients are children:
- at risk of developmental disorders as a result of premature birth,
- with multifactorial damage to or malformations of the central nervous system,
- with metabolic diseases,
- with genetic disorders,
- with motor dysfunctions of neurological origin,
- with intellectual disability,
- with dysfunctions of the sense organs and the articulatory organs,
- on the autism spectrum,
- with multiple disabilities.
Admission to the Centre starts with a diagnosis. The diagnostic team includes medical rehabilitation doctors, neurologists and psychiatrists, as well as neurologopedists, speech therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists.
Each child is treated individually, and the support depends on their condition.
If the child qualifies for therapy, it follows the recommendations of the team of consultants, with parents taking an active part in planning it. The therapy team consists of neurologopedists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and special educators. Depending on their needs, the child takes part in individual and/or group therapy.
As a team we work with nurseries, preschools, schools and adoption centres, as well as social services and counselling centres.
OWI specialists teach students of psychology and speech therapy at the University of Warsaw, of special education and speech therapy at the Maria Grzegorzewska University, and of the Faculty of Rehabilitation at the Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education, and give lectures to psychologists training for the clinical psychology specialisation. Future psychologists, speech therapists, educators and physiotherapists complete their student placements at the Centre. Students of these fields can carry out research for their master’s theses, and doctoral research is also conducted here. We also offer specialisation placements for psychologists and for doctors specialising in neurology and psychiatry.
