Stories

Silvia Pinheiro, facilitator mother

“At the first sessions I felt like a mere spectator.  I was only there to “learn” to handle my daughter.  But, what does that mean, “learn”? Does it mean that I, as her carer, who is with her every second of the day, has nothing to offer? The Juntos Programme disagrees and demonstrates that in practice therapists’ and carers’ knowledge needs to be joined together.  And they (Lia and Karine, the facilitator therapists) flew this flag and we ran the sessions so that the families had equally important roles.”

Silvia Pinheiro, facilitator mother (Salvador, Brazil)

“We were taught how to carry our children as we do our normal work …this not only helped us continue our work as we took care of our children, but also helped us involve our child in daily activities. We used to think we could not work when you have such a child” mother (Uganda)

“After the communication module, I started talking more with my daughter. I say, ‘Now you’re going to take a shower, okay? Then we go there! ‘ And now I talk to her when we’re playing together, and she replies laughing. “(Father, Brazil)

“Having facilitators who also have children with the same condition has given us strength to carry on. We have seen one facilitator’s child go to school and another stand alone, these live examples have given us hope.” (Mother, Uganda)