Comunidad Terapeútica Puntiti
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La Comunidad Terapéutica Puntiti is located in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Created in 1996, it started delivering services for children with developmental disabilities. Puntiti provides living facilities, education, medical services, and other services for over 100 children. Most of the children at Puntiti are orphan or were abandoned. It is managed by the Orden de Las Hermanas Hospitalarias del Sagrado Corazón. This Order was founded by Father Benito Menni en el 1881. Puntiti is a center for children with disabilities that follows the tradition established by Father Menni over a century ago.
Puntiti offers two services to its clientele: a Health program and an Education program. The Health program provides basic health services to more than 60 youngsters, from the ages of 4 to 18, who live at the Center. These daily services include, but are not limited to bathing and toileting, personal hygiene, dressing, nutrition, mobility, administration of medications, physical therapy, as well as occupational and language therapy.
The Education program provides academic instruction and support services for 100 students with moderate to severe developmental disabilities, who are currently enrolled in the San Benito Meni Special Education School. In addition, students are trained in functional independent living skills which meet their individual needs. Furthermore, the school recently opened a class for students with autism which provides academic instruction coupled with specialized support services. Currently, this is the only school in Bolivia that has services for people with autism.
The school also provides a sheltered workshop where students make greeting cards by hand and recycle paper. This purpose of this workshop is to provide visual motor stimulation and to develop the students' visual motor skills. The handmade greeting cards are sold to the public as a way to generate funds to buy materials and thus sustain the workshop for the students.
An additional service which is in its beginning stages is the Community Outreach program. This program consists of educating the families of the children of Puntiti about developmental disabilities, as well as improving the quality of life of their children and families. In addition, the outreach program provides education to the community to bring about understanding and acceptance for people with developmental disabilities.
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