Vakıfbank Dörtyol Branch: 2013166

• Our Mission

Our İskenderun Branch was established on January 03, 2000, under the Presidency of Ferhat Tezcan. In the beginning, the education and rehabilitation services were started in a building temporarily reserved for the use of this Branch in the İskenderun County. Upon the termination of this period, this Center was moved to a rental building in the Dörtyol County, thus continuing its services without any break. Even though it is one of our newest, today, the İskenderun Branch offers and carries its services with much success. It provides significant support to the whole region and continues being a beacon of hope for families with handicapped children.

Dörtyol Special Education and Rehabilitation Center

In our main Center we have:

• 1 Responsible Director,
• 2 Social Services Experts,
• 1 Psychologist,
• 1 Physical Therapist,
• 2 Child Development and Education Experts,
• 1 Classroom Teacher,
• 1 Pre-school Teacher,
• 1 Psychological Counselling and Guidance Expert,
• 2 Master Instructors,
• 5 Child Educators.

In addition to these, we also have cooks, watchmen, child care ‘mothers’, and cleaning personnel who are employed to serve fulltime, as many as needed.

In our Branch, we offer service to those who need education and rehabilitation in the following areas:

• Down Syndrome,
• Cerebral Palsy (CP),
• Hyperactivity,
• Autism,
• Learning Difficulties,
• Attention Deficiency,
• Late Speech Development and Speech Defects.

• Developmental Diagnostics and Evaluation Program,
• Basic Living Skills Program,
• Academic Achievement Education Program,
• Physical Development Program,
• Language Speech Training Program,
• Social Rehabilitation Program,
• Psych-social Support and Development Program,
• Work and Job Theraphy Program,
• Professional Rehabilitation and Education Program,
• Work and Profession Analysis Program,
• Transition to Independent Living Program,
• Family Education and Counseling Program.

The education programs to be applied for a handicapped individual in our Center are determined according to the specific needs of the students as full time, group education in sessions, and individual education. The mentally handicapped children who join the group sessions are offered individual education whenever needed, to acclimate them into the group and to support their development.

The handicapped children who benefit from our Professional Rehabilitation Programs are trained by our expert teachers and master students, in our Carpentry, Handcrafts, Galoshes/Overshoes Making, and Kitchen Workshops. The decisions on which profession and job branch the handicapped individual will be placed in are made by the experts, according to each individual’s skill levels and tendencies. The objective and our efforts in this area are: to facilitate the disabled individual’s gaining professional and job skills, to speed his/her transition to independent living, and to help the individual have a job in protective work places, thus, to introduce productive individuals to the society.

Within the Social Rehabilitation Programs that are offered and carried on in our Center, regional field trips are organized every Friday, to facilitate the introduction of our children to available social resources and make their unification with the society possible. As they are taken to such activity and show places as movies and theater, they also receive support through music, drama, and folklore activities. These increase the possibilities for our children to develop their own abilities and skills. At certain times and intervals, opportunities for exhibiting their skills and progress are created, thus increasing self confidence in our children, as well as opportunities for the public to get to know the mentally handicapped.

Our children have been receiving training in such areas as athletics, soccer, swimming, and table tennis, and experience in sports activities we jointly conduct with the Mentally Handicapped Sports Federation; they have been successfully participating in local and regional competitions in these areas.

During the 2004-2005 Education Period, our students have received recognition and demonstrated their success in the following events:

• 1 silver medal in the field of Athletics and 1 bronze medal in the field of Swimming, at the Mediterranean Athletics, Basketball, and Swimming Championship, held in Antalya,
• 9 gold medals and 4 silver medals in various fields of Athletics, at the Hatay Province Athletics Championship,
• 1 silver medal, at the Sinop Athletics Competition.

Within our Academic Skills Education, Integration Education are applied to students who display academic difficulties yet who would successfully receive primary school level education with some support. Coordinating these efforts with the Classroom teachers and the guidance councelor, their education program is supported for such children. The program applied eliminates the schoolwork difficulties and deficiencies the child may have.

The education and training received by the handicapped individuals are supported further by the Family Education and Counseling Programs designed for and offered to the families of the disabled children; this way, the learning and progress that they recieve at our Center can continue positively at home and in every child’s personal environment. The work and counseling that is geared towards finding solutions for the difficulties the family lives through, and providing the much needed support for them, are carried through by our professionals who are experts in their fields.

Every year, in the month of May, the products of the work efforts of the children who receive training in our various Professional Rehabilitation Workshops are exhibited, to have them show themselves as part of the society they live in.

Again in May, in an activity organized together with the Military Service Regional Branch Office, those students who have reached their military service age symbolically receive military service training for one day and receive their service sertificates; this has become a great source of joy and happiness for all.

• Photo Album