The state should not close the special schools for children with mental disorders. There were 27 such institutions, but now there are 23. “The children with mental disorders must be trained at special schools. Defectologists, logopeds and other specialists must work with them and a class must include not more than ten children. The social integration takes place in special schools as well,” said Alexandra Danilenko, chairman of the Special Olympics and coach in the Chisinau-based auxiliary school for children with mental disorders No. 6, Info-Prim Neo reports. Alexandra Danilenko spoke about a child suffering from the Down syndrome, who studies at a general school. “This child is marginalized, sits at the last desk. Attention is paid to him, but individual work must be done with him so that he makes progress. These children are special. They cannot solve problems or write poems, but they like sports. We have a special sports program. We started the Special Olympics. Ten years ago, the children were physically healthier. They become sicker every year and the state makes a mistake when it closes the special schools,” said Alexandra Danilenko. The school’s head Margareta Gherman said that 33 specialists work at the institution. The students are involved in artistic and sport activities and in technological education. They try to rehabilitate them. “They are taught to do something with their own hands. We now have 96 children, 39 of whom stay permanently at the boarding school, from Monday through Friday. The situation of their families is difficult,” said Margareta Gherman. The school’s deputy head Elena Ilina said the students study until the eighth grade. “If there are more than 12 children, we open the next two classes where the students study skills. The boys learn to work wood, while the girls study tailoring and hairdressing. After they complete the studies, they find employment according to possibilities. But the percentage of those who succeed in finding a job is low,” she stated. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, there are 33 special schools for children with impairments. The number of students studying at these schools fell by 11.3% compared with the 2010/11 school year, totaling 3 148. 81.1% of the students in the mentioned institutions suffer from mental disorders, 7.5% from hearing impairments, 5.1% from cerebral palsy, 3.6% from visual impairments, while 2.7% are deaf.