About JOY

JOY was founded in Norway in 2005 as an ideal, politically independent organisation. JOYs goal is to provide disabled children in countries from the former Soviet Union with activities and recources so that they can develop and learn. The organisation was founded as a result of experiences done in the above mentioned countries. We saw that activity, emotional and physical stimulation and time to play are given little priority in an everyday full of harsh discipline, routines and lack of recourses. It also became clear for us that lack of knowledge about handicapped children, enhanced this.  This resulted in children who are frightened, underdeveloped, acting out and inverted.

Introduction of “Active Learning”

“Active Learning” is developed by the Danish preschool teacher and psychologist, Dr. Lilli Nilsen. The method is used for helping development and learning in children with multiple disabilities. The premise of Active Learning is that all children learn through their own actions, on their own initiative. According to Dr. Nielsen:

“…if given the opportunity to learn from his own active exploration and examination, the child will achieve skills that become part of his personality, and so are natural for him to use in interaction with others, and for fulfillment of his own needs, and will gradually make him ready to develop to be as independent as possible.”

One of the most striking elements of Active Learning is the banishment of physically guiding the hands, even the hands of children who are blind or visually impaired. Instead, the parents’ and educators’ role is to construct a personalized learning environment that leads the child to perform learning tasks on his or her own, with no physical intervention, regardless of the extent of the child’s disabilities. In this manner, the multiply handicapped child experiences genuine independence and his/her learning becomes meaningful and relevant. The equipment that are needed to implement are foremost picked from the child`s natural environment. It is up to the educator to be creative! You can use boxes, different types of paper, wash-brushes, combs, etc.