Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 2
Polish Association of Behavioral Therapy
By Anna Budzinska
Since its foundation on March 5th 2002, the Polish Association of Behavioral Therapy (PATB) has undertaken a wide range of activities aimed at promoting behavioral therapy in Poland, integration of internal and external Polish behavioral therapists, creating behavioral therapy centres for autistic children, and many other activities.
Of particular importance is the fact that our Association is developing quickly and dynamically. At present, the Polish Association of Behavioral Therapy:
- has 109 members coming from all centres implementing behavioral therapy in Poland.
- provides scientific patronage to six centres of behavioral therapy for autistic children in Kielce, Sandomierz, Czestochowa, Lublin, and Bydgoszcz.
- runs two regional offices in addition to the board’s main office in Cracow; one in Poznan and the other in Czestochowa. (The activities of the newly open office in Poznan are outlined below.)
Most Important Achievements
The most important activities that have been carried out over the last year include:
- running Behavioral Therapy Dispensary, where both diagnosing and treatment via home programmes are carried out for 130 children with autism and related disturbances from south and central Poland.
- providing a system of training and courses on behavioral therapy for professionals and parents. We estimate that about 220 people benefited from our courses in 2005.
- signing an agreement in October 2005 with two organizations, Foundation Institute for Child Development Support and Polish Association of Behavioral Psychology, to create a common coherent system of behavioral therapist certification in Poland. According to the project details, this system will be started in September 2006, and will include training that lasts for minimum of three years that includes lectures, practical classes, practice, and work under supervision.
- coming to a decision and, in February 2005, beginning to organize the International Scientific Conference “Autistic Child and Adult – How Can You Help Them Effectively?” The conference will be held in Cracow on October 20th-21st 2006. At this point, Lynn McClannahan, Patricia Krantz, and Margaret Poulson have already declared their willingness to participate in the Conference and to present papers. We are working with five other scientists engaged in behavioral therapy in the U.S., Great Britain, and Spain to participate in the conference.
- entering into close cooperation with a newly created foundation, the Institute for Child Development Support, and signing a partner agreement with it regarding setting out and maintaining standards in behavioral therapy. (Activities of the Institute are presented below.)
- holding talks with the Polish Government on introducing specific legal regulations designed to support topics related to behavioral therapy implementation and the work of behavioral therapists in Poland.
We hope that our hitherto and future efforts will help in the further development of behavioral therapy in Poland and bring measurable positive effects to children benefiting from this form of therapy and their families.
Regional Office in Poznan
The Regional Office of Polish Behavioral Therapy Association in Poznan was opened in November 2005. The 13 members of the regional office are working in the Center for Children in Poznan. The Center began on September 1st, 2001 due to the efforts of parents and teachers of children with autism, the supervisor of Center for Children with Autism in Gdansk, Ms. Anna Budzinska, and financial support of the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation.
The Center offers a board spectrum of behavioral intervention services to children ages three through ten. Currently, it provides therapy for 14 children for 23 hours each week, which includes 1.5 hours in the children’s homes. During home visits, staff members teach parents how to implement intervention programs at home. Therapy of seven children is conducted in kindergartens and elementary schools, where they learn how to cooperate with peers and gain social and academic skills.
Staff members are a young group of professionals, three of whom were enrolled in three-month internship programs at the Princeton Child Development Institute in the U.S.
Regional office members share their knowledge in other Centers in Poland and take part in numerous conferences.
Co-Operating Institute in Gdansk
The Institute for Child Development (IWRD) in Gdansk was established in cooperation with the Polish Behavioral Therapy Association, thanks to support from the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation. Despite steadily increasing needs, there are still very few professional facilities providing early intervention to children with autism in Poland. The Institute for Child Development, which has been operating since January 2006, is one of the first non-governmental organizations providing therapy of small children with autism by implementing the latest achievements in applied behavioral analysis. All specialists employed at the Institute for Child Development have completed professional internships at the Princeton Child Development Institute and have many years of experience working with children with autism. Therapy offered at the Institute for Child Development in Gdansk is modeled upon therapy offered at the Princeton Child Development Institute with regard to teaching methods, educational programs, registration procedures, working with parents, and evaluation of therapists.
Programs Offered by the Institute for Child Development in Gdansk
A non-governmental educational entity operating within the Institute for Child Development offers individual therapy to five children under the age of four. The children follow individual educational-therapeutic programs both at the Institute and at home. Parents of students are members of the therapeutic team in that they observe and participate in classes at the Institute and continue therapy at home. The educational-therapeutic programs are precisely described by the professionals using the Institute’s blueprint program and are approved by each student’s parents. Every task specified within the program is recorded and the data is plotted onto appropriate graphs, allowing analysis of changes in behavior. The underlying principle of the therapy is the development of deficit behaviors and the systematic introduction of children with autism into their peer groups.
In the afternoons, the Institute for Child Development operates a diagnostic clinic and offers consultations that allow us to extend professional assistance to a larger number of children with autism. Children with various developmental disorders can receive diagnosis and, if needed, therapeutic recommendations. The Institute’s professionals create individual educational-therapeutic programs for each child and provide instruction to their parents on how the programs ought to be carried out.
Furthermore, the Institute for Child Development is preparing a training program for parents of children with developmental disorders that will allow them to gain reliable knowledge and skills necessary to actively participate in their child’s therapy.
The Institute for Child Development conducts a research and development program designed to popularize knowledge about the latest methods of diagnosis and therapy of small children with autism and related disorders, conduct scientific studies, and publish books and articles. The Institute cooperates with the University of Gdansk and other scientific research centers in Poland and abroad and shares its experience and knowledge by holding training sessions and internships for teachers, psychologists, and students.