Bosnia

Bosnia

As part of the four-phase Bosnia Autism Project, SPG: CSI sent specialized teams of professional volunteers to provide evidence-based assessment and treatment education to professionals, university students and parents in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
 

Phase One

  • In 2009, we sent 14 volunteers to Sarajevo where the first classroom for 3-5 year olds with autism was opened. We provided trainings for professionals and set up a classroom to work with children with autism.
  • Through 2009-2010, SPG: CSI co-hosted seminars in Bosnia for parents and professionals, providing them with current diagnosis and treatment techniques for children with ASD.
  • In 2010, we duplicated our success at the University of Tuzla, also in Bosnia.
  • In 2011, offered hands-on support to these classrooms and others that had opened up as a result of previous trainings.
  • Of those Bosnian professionals trained by SPG: CSI, four went back to their hometowns to provide autism treatment for families where there were no treatment options offered previously:

    • Lukavac:

      “Mali Svijet” (Translate: Small World), a center-based treatment program, serves more than 25 children with autism and other communication impairments.

    • Zenica:

      “Svijet u Slikama” (Translate: World in Pictures), this organization serves 31 students in home-based programs and a classroom setting in Zenica and four other towns in the surrounding community.

    • Sarajevo:

      “Budućnost” (Translate: The Future), a center-based program, serves over 65 students, practices full-inclusion, and is also partnered with UNICEF to provide trainings for people with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    • Doboj:

      “Mala Kuća” (Translate: Little House) was opened up after a professional started providing treatment in her own home. UNICEF also partnered with Mala Kuca to get back on their feet after they lost everything in a flood of 2014.

 

Phase Two

In 2012, a team of 15 American professionals traveled to Zenica, Sarajevo, and Lukavac to provide advanced classroom training to over 60 students and almost 70 professionals in existing programs.
 

Phase Three

In 2013, in an effort to maximize our efforts, SPG: CSI invited three key professionals to train in California for three weeks. These trailblazing pioneers received advanced training in communication assessment and treatment strategies for children of all ages and stages and have since then gone on to provide trainings throughout Bosnia and develop policies and procedural guidelines for assessment and treatment of special needs.
 

Phase Four

In 2015 and beyond, SPG:CSI will continue with the final maintenance phase of the Bosnian Autism Project by providing support through continued education via web-based training modules.
 
See Our Mission for more information on future goals.