THE PROJECT

The Burnout FREE ECI Project

“Burnout of Professionals and Parents with Children with Disabilities: Prevention, common challenges and mutually empowering methodologies and practices in Early Child Intervention Services” was approved by the Greek National Agency under the ERASMUS+ Programme, KA220-ADU-Cooperation partnerships in adult education (No: 2021-1-EL01-KA220-ADU-000035230). The project was submitted by AMIMONI- Panhellenic Association of parents and friends of visually impaired people with additional handicaps.

The Burnout Free ECI consortium consists of 1O Partners & 1 Associated Partner from 8 different countries (Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Belgium and Albania). The project partners consist of a remarkable group of Professionals in ECI Organizations, Professors, professionals in the private sector who will bring their knowledge and expertise to the project in order to accomplish its aims.

The Burnout Free ECI project aims to craft a roadmap to better outcomes and lead to innovative, mutually empowering techniques and solutions to some of the most complex challenges parents with children with disabilities (CwD), professionals in the disability field and Organizations face, hindering the prospects of early childhood. Our experience from working with parents and Children with Disabilities (CwD) and recent studies have revealed the seriousness of burnout implications on parents with children with disabilities and Professionals in the disability field. The Burnout FREE ECI project addresses the tremendously serious issue of professionals’ and parents’ burnout on the family centered Early Child Intervention.

It has also revealed the need to enhance the protective factors for family and ECI professionals and reduce the burnout risk factors which threaten to result in social isolation of professionals and in social exclusion of parents and children with disabilities.

Through an Innovative Interdisciplinary Burnout Free approach applied in ECI services, the project will address Parents’ with children with disabilities and Professionals’ needs:

- to strengthen their personal, emotional, social skills, enhance parenting capabilities and professionals’ competences, improve their cooperation to meet the requirements of their demanding roles and cope with challenges

- to identify, avoid or recover from burnout enhancing their resilience, improving their wellbeing and ensuring that professionals and parents remain socially active

- to have direct access to structured, flexible and high quality learning opportunities, adapted to the learning needs of adults so as to better support children with disabilities.

The project will also address the Organizations’ needs:

- to enrich their capacity to adapt their structure and tools, build connected and dedicated teams, create a positive culture of resilience and increase the quality of services offered

- to detect the risk factors for burnout and apply effective leadership approaches to adequately support professionals.

The ultimate aim of the project is to meet the needs of children with disabilities in order to have better quality of care and support, maximizing their strengths and potentials and promoting their social inclusion. The project also addresses the needs of participants with fewer opportunities, which has become even more crucial during COVID-19.