About the programme
My life My choice is the first prevention programme in Poland targeted on young people with mild intellectual disability. The programme is intended to develop knowledge and skills protect young people from using psychoactive substances and substitute drugs.
The idea for the programme emerged in the minds of the staff of the National Bureau for Drug Prevention whose job is to create and implement substance prevention at the national level.
The programme was developed by two specialists of the Beyond the box Foundation, who have been involved in designing and implementing prevention projects for children and adolescents for many years.
Programme framework
My life My choice draws on positive prevention. It means that the proposed actions are aimed at equipping young people with knowledge and skills that serve their development and consequently reduce or weaken risk factors. My life My choice is a programme that focuses primarily on developing those protective factors that can compensate for or reduce risk factors such as:
- impulse-control deficits,
- low self-esteem,
- sense of loneliness,
- peer rejection,
- insufficient psychosocial competencies.
The key protective factor for risky behaviour among youth is positive and stable relationship with parents or guardians. My life My choice engages parents/ guardians in several ways. There is a workshop for parents/guardians aimed at improving the ability to provide their children with support and build the positive relationship at the same time.
Parents/guardians are also receive given a specially designed publication, which contains a host of practical tips how to relate to children. Besides, some homework tasks intended for the young participants in the publication have been designed in such a way that they involve parents and guardians as well.
Programme goals
My life My choice aims at developing basic knowledge and skills in adolescents with mild intellectual disability in order to prevent them from using psychoactive substances.
The activities have been devised to help young people to:
- gain knowledge on the risks related to using psychoactive substances,
- reinforce the positive self-image,
- develop communication skills without resorting to violence,
- find out constructive ways of handling emotions and aggression,
- learn how to actively manage their time actively.
Programme structure
The implementation of My life My choice has been planned to last 11 weeks. The programme features the following components:
- induction meeting with parents/guardians of teenagers,
- nine weekly sessions with young people supplemented by individual work tasks or work tasks involving parents/guardians,
- workshops for parents/guardians,
- summary meeting for young people in the form of a group game.
Programme participants
My life My choice is targeted on young people aged 13-16 with mild intellectual disability as well as their parents/guardians.
The programme is intended to be implemented at primary schools in grades 7 and 8.