- Care for this group is channeled through a physiotherapy project that won a Social Value Award in 2019
- Fundación Cepsa representatives and the Awards jury witnessed the activities performed 'in situ'
A total of 20 children and young people, students from the Nuestra Señora del Carmen Special Education School, part of the Family Association for the Mentally Disabled of Tenerife (Aspronte), are currently benefiting from the physiotherapy project for minors with mental disabilities and multiple disabilities, created by Aspronte with support from Fundación Cepsa’s 2019 Social Value Awards.
The director of Cepsa in the Canary Islands, José Manuel Fernández-Sabugo, accompanied by the Ombudsman and president of the awards jury, Rafael Yanes, as well as the Head of Fundación Cepsa in the Canary Islands, Belén Machado, and the representative from of the company that sponsors the project, César García, saw first-hand how the project has been progressing, a project that aims to improve the quality of life of this group and promote their school integration.
During the visit, they were welcomed by the president of Aspronte, Juan Arroyo, its manager, Victor Garcia, the school principal, Virginia Rodriguez, and physiotherapist Texenery Martin, who provided an overview of the initiative and the impact it is having on this group.
Given the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, the Fundación Cepsa representatives could not have a face-to-face meeting with the group, although they learned about their day-to-day life through a video which clearly demonstrates how they are benefitting from the program.
The meeting highlighted the importance of physiotherapy for this group, ranging from 6 and 21 years old, taking into account their motor problems, which allows them to function with greater autonomy in their daily lives.
It also highlighted the innovative nature of the project since physiotherapy is included as an integrated service in the educational process itself. This initiative puts emphasis on improving the quality of life for these students and therefore promoting access to the school curriculum and educational environment.
The therapy includes several areas of action that focus on the body schema, through exercises aimed normalizing muscle tone, and controlling movements in order to improve attention, muscle flexibility or the joint movement.
It advocates improving fine and gross motor skills to increase personal autonomy while working on basal stimulation to facilitate sensory experiences. The treatment is rounded out with respiratory physiotherapy and improving key factors such as nutrition.
These actions are linked to a parallel program with the families that helps to achieve the objectives set for each student.
The Family Association for the Mentally Disabled of Tenerife (Aspronte) is a social organization focused on promoting care, recovery, education and labor and social integration for people with disabilities, as well as creating and implementing initiatives and activities that can improve the quality of life for this group.
The Aspronte project is one of the 55 winners in the Canary Islands over the course of the 16 editions of Fundación Cepsa's Social Value Awards; these awards are made possible thanks to the money allocated to them, a total of €495,000, which allows them to helps and care for the most vulnerable groups.
