APRIM – Association des Parents pour la Réhabilitation d’Infirmes Moteurs

• Regular therapy sessions conducted by professional therapists aim to improve physical and cognitive abilities.
• APRIM provides home visits to ensure that each student receives the necessary care and support in their own environment.
• Education programmes are customized to meet the individual needs of each student.

Beneficiaries:  APRIM supports 31 students through these comprehensive services.

A.P.R.I.M (Association des Parents pour la Réhabilitation des Infirmes Moteurs) is a dedicated day care centre established in 1987. Our mission is to support children and young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. As a non-profit organisation, we are officially registered with the Registrar of Association and proudly affiliated with the National Council for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (NCRD), MACOSS, and EDYCSS.

Currently, APRIM is home to more than 30 individuals aged between 8 and 40 years, most of whom are living with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a condition characterized by disorders of movement, muscle tone, or posture caused by damage or abnormal development in the brain, usually before birth.

Our services encompass specialised education and rehabilitation tailored to improve the quality of life for our students. We offer counselling, training, and psychological support to parents, empowering them to better care for their children.

Our Team consists of 5 dedicated teachers, 2 Occupational Therapists, 1 Speech Therapist, 2 drivers, 2 volunteers, and 10 yearly placements from UOM for health professions (Occupational and Physiotherapists). The human resource element, including teachers and parents, is a cornerstone of our support system, providing essential care, love, and security to our students.

Role of Health Professionals:

• Occupational Therapists focus on supporting rehabilitation for students facing physical and cognitive disabilities. By utilizing proper assistive devices, they help students improve their autonomy in daily activities. At APRIM, Occupational Therapists offer both individualised and group sessions every day, focusing on enhancing positioning and preventing further deformities in children with disabilities.

Our Sensory Room plays a crucial role in enhancing the well-being of adolescents and young adults. It offers a serene environment, free from external distractions, where individuals can immerse themselves in soothing music and captivating visual stimuli, such as moving colours and shapes. This setting not only provides a pleasant experience but also empowers individuals to interact with their surroundings in meaningful ways, laying the foundation for significant progress.

The Occupational Therapists:

• Support the development of communication skills.
• Enhance sensory skills, hand-eye coordination, and cause-and-effect response.
• Assist in the development of social and emotional skills.
• Promote activities to reduce tension and increase relaxation.
• Provide activities designed for fun and enjoyment.
• Assist in improving levels of concentration, alertness, calmness, and general awareness.
• Assess each child before admission to create tailored interventions.
• Promote autonomy in activities of daily living, such as dressing, grooming, and feeding.
• Provide specialised education and rehabilitation interventions to enhance the well-being of beneficiaries at APRIM.

• Speech Therapists at APRIM assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing, fluency, and related disorders. Their services include screening and assessment, identifying and diagnosing communication and swallowing disorders, and providing therapeutic interventions addressing cognitive aspects of communication and sensory awareness. They also contribute uniquely to the curriculum with a focus on language and literacy.

The Speech Therapists:

• Begin with initial screening for communication and swallowing disorders.
• Follow-up with a thorough assessment and diagnosis.
• Provide support for cognitive aspects of communication, such as attention, memory, problem-solving, and executive functions.
• Address sensory awareness related to communication, swallowing, or other upper aerodigestive functions.
• Ensure that speech therapy services are relevant to educational settings.
• Provide unique contributions to the curriculum, highlighting language and literacy.
• Conduct assessments, preventions, and interventions tailored to individual needs.

A.P.R.I.M’s objectives include the socialisation of our children and young adults, fostering their intellectual development, providing moral support to parents, and helping the children become autonomous. These include:

• Promoting welfare and enhance the well-being of children and young adults with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
• Providing ethical and effective academic and therapeutic programmes.
• Offering moral support to parents.
• Seeking financial support to continue organisation’s mission.
• Empowering parents to advocate for their children with multiple disabilities.
• Upholding confidentiality, non-profit transparency, safety, professionalism, discipline, and the well-being of our beneficiaries.
• Promoting the socialisation and intellectual development of our children and young adults.

Helping children with disabilities become more autonomous.

• Securing a centre at Mont Roches.
• Hiring a therapist.

Annual subsidies from the NGO's Trust Fund, Fondation Nouveau Regard, Fondation Joseph Lagesse, annual fundraising drives, donations and sponsorships from benefactors, and contributions from parents.

Number of beneficiaries: 27 people