About Us

Social Services House for Children and Adults in Šoporňa – Štrkovec is situated in area of an old manor house that was built in the first half of 19 the century in settlement Štrkovec, part of a village Šoporňa and its distance is 7 km from Šoporňa.

Currently the House provides all year or daily care to 56 clients from the age of 0 to 50 that have the primarily diagnosis: mental retardation. Besides that diagnosis our clients suffer from secondary diagnoses, for instance VNP (DMO, guard paresis, hemi paresis), auditory disability (surdomutitas, remains of hearing), visual disability (remains of vision, blinds), dysphasia, psychiatrically behaviour (behaviour disorder, schizophrenia, depressions), autism.

In House of Social Services Šoporňa – Štrkovec we provide: 

  • accommodation 
  • catering 
  • health care 
  • nursing care - medication, nursing, clothing care, food and hygiene of clients 
  • rehabilitation care – compensation of physical disorders and development of motoric skills 
  • educational care – leading clients to self-reliance, development of mental abilities, learning new abilities in self-service, for example dressing, morning and evening personal hygiene, dining, social skills, whole development of personality. Each client has an individual educational plan and stimulation programme that comes from their abilities and possible self-reliance, self-service and peculiarities from their lifetime (anamnesis), emotional life and desires and wishes, mental abilities, motoric skills, communication and social behaviour. 
  • We work with our clients on the basis of the individual programmes.

Employees Awards: 

  • White Hearts – Slovak association of nurses and midwives. The award has been given to our head nurse – dipl. psych. nurse Oľga Haringová
  • Medal of TTSK chairman (Trnava self-government region) for extraordinary outcomes and merit able work in nursing. The award has been given to our head nurse - Oľga Haringová
  • Commemorative letter of TTSK chairman has been given to the team of medical workers of our house.
  • Nomination on Year 2010 Donation for Mgr. Mária Tóthová, the headmaster.

Our most important activities

  1. MAKATON – as the first organization of social services in Slovakia our professional, trained team started to teach our clients language programme for mentally challenged people MAKATON. Via the communication system we could find the possibility to understand better our clients and help them to express their desires, needs, wishes, but also pleasure, worries, and we help to eliminate problematic behaviour.

In 2008 as the first institution in Slovakia we set up: 

  1. CHILDREN DEPARTMENT from the age of 0 to 3 – it is a department for mentally heavily handicapped children from the age of 0 to 3. According to Slovak Law, parents who placed their mentally handicapped child into mental institution because they were not able to take care of him, they had to legally give up their child. When the child is placed into our institution, parents do not have to do that act and they can visit the child, consult the staff his progress etc. 
  • In the effort to provide the best quality of life for autistic clients, we set up the DEPARTMENT FOR AUHTISTS from the approved project about lotteries and games, in which a group of specialists in autism work clients. Currently there work one coach individually with two autistic clients in accord with TEACCH, programme for autistic clients. To provide professional approach to our clients, educational workers are gradually trained and informed about the method via certified training. 

Besides everyday teaching, we provide for our autistic clients following: 

  • Consultancy to families with autistic child 
  • To prepare proposal of individual educational program 
  • To provide professional help in school or institution that integrate children with autism to common educational process. 
  • To provide special pedagogical consultation.

Thanks the above mentioned project we have had 4 MONTESSORI CLASS since 2003 

– That department is accessible to all clients; however, mainly we are aimed at clients with moderate and severe retardation. Our work is inspired by Maria Montessori, who understood upbringing as a help to life. According to her, “Help to life is the first and the basic principle. The man ought to develop himself and respect influencing the principle of development. “Our target is get practical skills to our clients and gradually use in daily life. 

In our constitution successfully runs 

5. SEXUAL EDUCATION MP – in 2001 a headmaster Mgr. Mária Tóthová was the coordination of the project MPSVR SR „Special preparation of regional offices and social institutions about the issues of sexual education and preparation to the partnership. “ 

12 specialists in sexual education of mentally challenged people were trained due to that activity. Together with our two specialists they are holders of certificates allowing do the consultancy to sexual education for mentally handicapped children and young people and provide education to the other persons – training of 1st grade.

The philosophy of our institution is to ensure for our clients the best quality of life. To improve the life of mentally handicapped people means their integration. Due to our very successful project we got the area for 

6. PROTECTED HOUSING – in village Dlhá nad Váhom where 4 our clients cope with normal family life. That helped our clients to increase and develop their abilities, mainly communication, decision and compromise making, cooperation, daily skills such as food preparation, cleaning, shopping and travelling. 

Huge point and I can claim not only medical is also educational-stimulation for our clients has  

7. REHABILITATION ROOM – in which our trained worker works.  

We provide not only highly professional rehabilitation care to our clients but also regular treatment of their hands and legs in that room. 

8. PEDICURE AND MANICURE

We have also aromatherapy and treatment by stones.

Our clients have own 

BOOK OF LIFE – that helps them to their self-confidence and to express themselves through photographs, drawings of themselves, their family and friends. 

From the approved project TOP EVENTS we could realise 

10. ARTETERAPEUTIC WORSHOP – there is a ceramic oven for firing the products from clay and the other materials. Clients make various decorative things and gifts within educational activities. Besides the clay for didactic toys and aids they use wood, paper, textile, cotton and product of nature.  Work in workshop allows to our clients not only work meaningfully but positively influences their living and realising himself. 

Within our work therapy we set up 

11.  GARDENING WORKSOP - with special machines, tools and clothes for clients that was done from the project from Hour for children, and clients clean their surroundings. 

In our institution we have established 

12. SPORT CLUB OAZA – we successfully take part in special Olympiads abroad and in Slovakia, mainly in athletics and skiing. We take part in similar activities within the building of friendly relations with the other social services houses as well. 

In our institution we 

13. SUPPORT RELIGION –our clients together with our employees and friends of our institution willingly take part at regular masses.

All our clients accepted Christening, 

Holly Communion in  2006  

And Confirmation in 2007

Our important activities are

14. INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE– our clients regularly take part in international multilateral meetings of people with special needs where represent Slovakia. 

We have close cooperation with German workshop for handicapped people in Dortmund. We were there on friendly visit and the following visit that was a meeting of leading workers from Dortmund in our institution. The result of that visit was 2 weeks long training of our 3 employees /Bc. Kočíkova, dipl. nurse Haringova and Mr. Hambálek / together with 2 clients in our workshops, and 6 weeks long staying of our immobile clients of our institution directly included into all activities in institution of Bottrop in 2010. 

The aim is to get more knowledge and experiences for broaden our activities for educational place for mentally handicapped people from all Slovakia. 

We successfully provide 

15. ACTIONS 

  •  cultural
  •  sporty 
  •  selling 
  •  exhibitions – where our clients and employees present our institution.

Among the most important cultural activities come under: 

3 days long – Excursion of artistic work of mentally challenged clients in institutions of social services in scope of Trnava self-government region. 

ŠTRKOVEC BARONESS 

Our clients regularly perform in dancing, musical, dramatic and paintings.

Moreover, our institution performs plays, clients together with employees, which contributes to better relations and cohesion. In this way we performed the fairytale about Snow White, Maja Bee and the story about Olymp, and a comical story about Public Health and traditions in Slovakia. We match fine art exhibition to individual topics and install together with equipments one day before the opening of the event in Community Centre in Galanta.

Hereafter

Three days long international event – International fishing championship for mentally challenged people. 

GOLD FISH

That event is popular and one social institution from each region is presented, but from Trnava self-government region are two, one of them is Štrkovec and the second according to placing. Foreigner guests take part from Austria, Hungary, The Czech Republic and Germany take part at that event.

The next successful and favourite event is  

TREE of LIFE – it is an  integration of  mentally challenged clients among students of Primary School in Pata, in the form of creative workshop when our clients together with students of primary school make decorations of various materials and decorate the tree that is changing into beautifully coloured tree. 

HALLOWEEN - Halloween evening – the event is organised for clients of social institutions in Trnava self-government region. Our institution presents due acting of  life photos, clients together with employees, different historical period or interesting circumstances of our life. 

16.  Our clients wrote a collection of poems that was published – in 2007 was its “debut”, since then in 2009 and 2010 our clients took part in international poetry and prose competition Rozhľady and reached 1st and 2nd position.  

17. Our institution provides rooms for students practices , excursions and consultancy for students.

18. Institution organises international conferences, meetings within Slovakia and Trnava self-government region and, of course seminars within SLOVAKIA and Tranava self-government region and seminars for the institution itself. 

19.  As a founder we run the Institution of foster care in  Križovany nad Dudváhom

20. As a founder we also run Zemianske Sady where we intend to form 30 places for handicapped people with workshops until 2009.

Aims and visions for the future

Our main objective is to improve the quality of life, living and work of our clients and employees, to be in accord with European norm for running that kinds of institutions.  

New kinds of social services in the region:

In case of realisation of planned project Zelená lúka (Green meadow) we get in Trnava self-government region

  • Training centre for mentally handicapped people,  which has not been yet in Slovakia, 
  • Social consultancy
  • Sexual consultancy, lecturers
  • Consultancy for autistic clients
  • Diagnostics and  repeated diagnostics for mentally challenged people. 
  • Consultancy and staying for students, employees of institutions and education.
  • Highly professional institution for children from 0 to 3 years old.

Clients Poems

 TREES

When I scream in forest,

Fairly tales will answer.

They asks for help, 

Look for mum.

A boy said

I would find my mum

And dream with her together.

A little deer is without water.

The boy broke the ice and said,

“Drink the little deer. “

 

Dear Majka

You are very kind like blue from the sky.

Everything you would give us.

You fulfil our dreams.

When you smile, you are like the Sun,

Just like our mum.

You are for us our rainbow.

And manage to do everything in the way 

Like somebody would allow the bird 

Fly away from its cage to freedom.

We trust you entirely 

And you will be our forever.