Project “The Path to Communication: Arranging a Speech Therapist's Office for Comprehensive Rehabilitation” (November 2025 - April 2026)

Project “The Path to Communication: Arranging a Speech Therapist's Office for Comprehensive Rehabilitation” was aimed at expanding access to quality speech therapy services for veterans, people with disabilities, and children with special educational needs who were affected by the war.

As part of the project implemented by our public organization with the support of the Right to Protection Foundation and the Humanitarian Fund for Ukraine (UHF), a specialized office for a clinical speech therapist was equipped on the basis of the Dobropil Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center relocated to the city of Dnipro.

The premises were fully prepared for rehabilitation classes: speech therapy equipment, furniture, and office equipment were purchased and installed. A separate sensory integration zone was equipped, which includes elements for stimulating visual, auditory, and tactile perception, as well as equipment for developing coordination and balance.

After the office was launched, three speech therapists were organized to provide services to children and adults. Project participants received individual classes on speech development and restoration, as well as joined group classes. In general, assistance was available to people with disabilities, children with special educational needs, students of the center, as well as children from families in difficult life circumstances and internally displaced families.

The project included a series of individual and group classes, which allowed participants to improve their speaking skills, communication, and level of social interaction.

The project implementation was accompanied by a number of challenges that required constant flexibility and adaptation of the team. In particular, the demand for speech therapy services turned out to be much higher than expected, and the short terms of the active phase of the project made it difficult to ensure a long and continuous rehabilitation process for children. Additional difficulties were the dispersion of the Center's students across different regions of Ukraine due to the security situation, the inability to work exclusively in a face-to-face format, as well as regular power outages, which made it necessary to constantly adjust class schedules and look for new formats of interaction with families.

After the end of the grant support, the project will continue and become part of the strategic development of social services in the community. The speech therapy office is planned to be moved to a new building purchased by the Dobropil City Council for the provision of social services. The community will maintain the building and ensure the operation of the equipment at the expense of the local budget. To ensure the sustainability and continuity of services, a competition has also been announced for the position of a full-time speech therapist.