The Association for the Assistance of Persons with Autism "Children of Light," in cooperation with the Association of Citizens for the Assistance of Persons with Special Needs, "Children of the Sun," held a public forum on the topic "Improving the Social and Educational Inclusion of Children with Disabilities". The public forum was held at the Cultural Center in Šamac, on June 19, 2026, starting at 6 p.m.

Panelists of the forum Nikolina Klepić (diploma psychologist and project coordinator), Olivera Davidović Knežić (MA in Psychology and deputy project coordinator), Daniela Višnjić (legal advisor), and Tanja Ninković (president of the Association "Children of the Sun") presented the work of these two associations and the advocacy initiative for amending the regulations regulating the status of teaching assistants.

The public forum was supported by educators, teaching assistants, representatives of the Center for Social Work, members of the Association "Children of the Sun", parents of children with developmental disabilities, and citizens.

The mother of the boy who attends classes with an assistant, Cvijeta Milovanović, supported the activities undertaken in the past few months regarding the improvement of the status of teaching assistants and added that, in addition to their status, work should be done on the creation of work materials and textbooks for students who attend classes according to an adapted program.

Educator Nataša Petrović points out that the job of a teaching assistant is very demanding and responsible, and that people who do it should undergo rigorous, long-term training to do it as well as possible. Also, he believes that all educators should continuously improve and educate themselves.

A longtime member of the "Children of the Sun" Association said that we should stand in solidarity with one another and help those who need it most.

The main messages from the held panel are that quality education of teaching assistants, as well as other teaching staff, is necessary. Also, those present at the forum supported the initiative to amend the Regulation on Education, in the part relating to the status of teaching assistants, as well as the Regulation on Norms and Standards for Financing Primary Schools, and one of the conclusions was that for better inclusion it is necessary to provide adequate textbooks and working materials that will follow the content from the adapted curricula according to which children are educated.

"We would like to emphasize in particular that parents of children with developmental disabilities can exercise their right to free legal aid, which is provided by a lawyer with many years of experience, Daniela Višnjić. Anyone who needs legal assistance can contact the "Children of Light" Association at 051/961/940 or via email at djecasvjetlosti@gmail.com," said the Association.

The Association also says that a petition is currently being signed to amend the Regulation on Education, in the part that relates to the status of teaching assistants, as well as the Regulation on Norms and Standards for Financing Primary Schools. So far, the petition has been signed by about 900 citizens all over the Republika Srpska. You can find and sign the petition online on the Association's website. We invite citizens to take a few seconds, support our petition, and thus contribute to improving the quality of inclusion.