The cooperation of the Early Development Center with resource centers is not at a high level, although these institutions deal with the same issues - the problems of children with developmental disabilities.
This is one of the conclusions from the meeting between representatives of the child rights sector at the institution of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Freedoms and the director of the Center for Early Development, Ivan Krgović.
The Center for Early Childhood Development, formerly known as the Center for Autism, Developmental Disabilities and Child Psychiatry, operates within the Clinical Center of Montenegro.
The Institution of the Protector announced that representatives of the Sector for Children's Rights discussed with Krgović the number of service users, diagnostics, and challenges in terms of spatial and human resources capacities.
During the meeting, it was announced that the Center currently has 26 employees, including three child psychiatrists, four psychologists, two special education teachers, three speech therapists, two social workers, six nurses and other staff. However, it was emphasized that the institution is plagued by a lack of staff and space, and that some of the staff are on sick leave.
"Various services are provided within the Center (examinations, treatments, counseling). Some of the services provided at the Center are surface individual psychotherapy (session, counseling, persuasion, latent suggestion, autogenic training); individual sessions of cognitive or behaviorally based psychotherapy techniques; family therapy sessions; behavioral psychotherapy; data collection with psychological tests and methods of categories A, B, C (Rorschach diagnostic test PPM, neuropsychological analysis); psychological treatment of the family; assessment of the child's psychomotor development; advice to parents and family members", the institution of the Protector announced.
It is also emphasized that the Center has records of 7.500 individual patient files from all over Montenegro, and during the previous year, around 10.500 examinations were performed. One examination lasts 45 minutes, and appointments for examination with a psychiatrist are filled until June.
Representatives of the Ombudsman institution and Krgović also mentioned the problem of the lack of a stationary part for the treatment of children with psychiatric problems, the lack of an adequate institution for children and youth that would deal with the placement of children and youth with developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, communication difficulties and psychological functioning who need intensive and round-the-clock supervision, care and support, 24 hours a day, and whose needs cannot be met in a family environment or through community services.
The problem was also pointed out in relation to the Special Hospital in Dobrota, which refuses to treat children over 16 years of age, while other health institutions refer children over 16 to the adult section - which is not in line with the interests of children.
The statement from the Ombudsman's institution added that during the visit, it was proposed to open special developmental counseling centers in municipalities, at health centers. This, they say, would allow the Center to focus exclusively on developmental disorders, while health centers would provide other types of support, such as speech and language problems.
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