For the first time, Miriam’s gaze flits away from her toys and towards the person a few meters away. A woman has been sitting there on the floor for a good half an hour, watching how the four-year-old and Eva-Maria Klingl play together. Klingl is an individual companion: She supports Miriam who needs additional help when she goes to kindergarten – due to her autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Miriam is an inclusive child with increased needs. With the help of Klingl, Miriam can take part in everyday group life and integrate into the community of the kindergarten group. Often, however, the girl needs more rest than the other children. Then she withdraws with Klingl, like now, playing with the shop. And suddenly Miriam grabs a toy muffin, walks up to the woman on the floor and holds the item out to her. Eva-Maria Klingl becomes silent, she gently shakes her head, then laughs and says: “Now I’m amazed, it is not a matter of course that she should do something like that – Miriam, that is very nice of you!”
Since January of this year, Klingl has been accompanying the four-year-old Miriam, whose real name is different, to the kindergarten in the Erding district. The two of them are there every day between eight and twelve o’clock. Before that, Klingl accompanied a girl at the water lily school in Poing, before that a child in a regular class at a primary school – school accompaniment is the personal support of a school child with special needs, individual support that of a kindergarten child.
Klingl is actually a psychologist; she now works part-time at the Upper Bavaria Psychiatry Crisis Service, where people receive qualified emergency help in the event of mental crises and psychiatric emergencies. In addition, since 2017 she has been working as an individual and school companion for the Awo district association Ebersberg, which provides part of the individual and school accompaniments for the districts of Ebersberg and Erding. “Working with the children is incredibly varied and that’s exactly why I like this job so much.”
The children with special needs have the opportunity through their companions to learn every day at their own pace and according to their needs. This type of care also increases social skills.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
That is what Gerhard Schönauer also says. As the head of the Awo outpatient service for people with disabilities, he coordinates all Awo individual and school attendants for Ebersberg and Erding. “In the case of autism, the accompaniment has to provide completely different help than in the case of a sensory or physical disability,” he says. For example, toilet assistance may be one of the tasks for a child with a walking disability, but not for a child with a hearing impairment or ASD.
The support for Miriam is not about individual companion Klingl telling the girl what she is allowed to do and not doing, but about recognizing the needs of the four-year-olds and helping her accordingly. For example, if Miriam becomes restless or starts screaming – no one can say whether the girl will ever be able to speak – then Klingl knows: Now the girl needs rest. She takes the child out of the current play situation with the other kindergarten children. Klingl has prepared some toys in a separate room that are only intended for Miriam. A small ball pit, for example, or a wooden board with punched-out letters and numbers into which the matching counterparts are inserted. “Miriam finds numbers and letters particularly exciting,” says Klingl. And when the four-year-old has had enough of playing alone, she goes back to the group.
In the district of Ebersberg, 97 children and young people took advantage of individual or school support in the 2020/2021 school year. In the previous year there were 77 escorts, a year earlier 60. A look at the neighboring district of Erding shows that the numbers there are fairly constant: in 2020/2021, 98 children and young people were accompanied there, compared to 96 in the two previous years. The general trend in the demand for individual and school accompaniments is increasing, a press spokeswoman for the Upper Bavaria district confirms. The district assumes the costs for accompaniment with physical and mental disabilities of all age groups as well as with mental disabilities such as ASS or ADHD in kindergarten age. The youth welfare office is responsible for mental handicaps from school onwards.
Eva-Maria Klingl has been working as an individual and school companion for the Awo district association Ebersberg since 2017.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
There is no state training for the activity of individual and school accompaniment. Gerhard Schönauer from der Awo says that those interested come from a wide variety of areas: from high school graduates who want to bridge a year for professional orientation, to mainly women who want to go back to work after having their own children, but no longer have a connection in their old job up to people with a degree and professional experience who are looking for a new professional environment – like Eva-Maria Klingl. What all of the companions have in common, according to Schönauer, is that they “have incredible personal skills, although many come to us without any previous educational or special educational knowledge”.
Despite the increasing demand – it has never been in short supply: All requests for individual or school accompaniment that ended up with Awo could have been met so far, says Schönauer. Even in the district, which is the cost bearer for most escorts and thus has a large overview, according to the press office, no bottleneck has so far been noticed in the district of Ebersberg.
These are good prerequisites for children like Miriam. Because without an individual companion like Eva-Maria Klingl, the girl would probably not be able to survive everyday kindergarten life. As it is, the situation is a win-win for everyone: Klingl regularly explains to the other children why there are so many exceptions at Miriam, why the four-year-old, for example, is currently allowed to reach into the box of carnival costumes every morning and put on one – She’s particularly fond of that at the moment, on this day it became a pink glitter costume. The other children are only allowed to do this during Mardi Gras. Klingl’s explanations sharpen consideration and understanding – and without that, inclusion cannot work.
And on the other hand, through her companion, Miriam has the opportunity to learn every day at her pace and according to her needs. “Now she even waves goodbye to me,” says Klingl, and she laughs again. “To see this development is really great.” The girl’s social skills have increased enormously since she received individual support – because not so long ago it was unimaginable that she became more and more familiar with strangers, now integrated them into her game and offered them toy muffins.