The Institute for Child Development (IWRD) Foundation has provided extensive help in various areas to children with autism spectrum disorders and their families since 2006. The Institute staff consists of highly specialized treatment professionals, and all instructors have years of experience working with children with autism spectrum disorders and have completed internships in the US over the course of many months. The Foundation Director is Anna Budzińska, Ph.D., a psychologist, supervisor, and the author of articles on effective teaching techniques for children with autism spectrum disorders.
The Institute’s activities consist of treatment, education, and research and use the newest scientific methods. We train specialists from Poland and the whole Europe and assist in founding similar institutions. Together with the University of Gdańsk, the Institute organizes scientific symposiums which attract great interest of specialists, scientists, and parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. The Institute also cooperates with Gdańsk University of Technology, the Medical University of Gdańsk, and the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (the Center for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies).
The Institute for Child Development is one of the founding members of The Alliance for Scientific Autism Intervention (ASAI). The organization was founded in 2017 with the aim to develop and promote a model of effective and science-based treatment for people with autism spectrum disorders. The Director of IWRD, Dr. Anna Budzińska, is a member of the ASAI Board of Directors.
The IWRD Foundation owes its existence to Barbara Piasecka Johnson, who funded the construction of our building. Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation supports the Institute’s activities to this day. The Foundation also received the help of the Municipality of Gdańsk, which donated the plots for the building site. The official Ambassador of the IWRD Foundation is Mr. Adam Korol.
In 2021, the Institute for Child Development in Gdańsk (IWRD) celebrated its 15th anniversary. Since the very beginnings of our Foundation, we have made every effort to improve the lives of children with autism spectrum disorders and their parents, sparing no time and resources in the process. We are proud to say that over 50% of our students who have completed individual intensive treatment at IWRD enter mainstream schools and are indistinguishable from their peers.
The IWRD Foundation operates
Special Kindergarten - intensive behavioral individual treatment
Psychology and Education Clinic
Private Training Center for Teachers
Other activities aimed at improving the lives of people with ASD
8,150 specialists trained at the IWRD Private Training Center for Teachers
6,500 participants of IWRD International Symposiums
3,000 families under the care of the IWRD Clinic
4,100 people trained through the "15 minutes for Treatment" and "Kwadrans dla Terapii" online courses
90 children receiving specialized and intensive individual treatment
8 “IWRD-recommended” teaching institutions in whole Poland
We publish scientific articles in cooperation with Oslo Metropolitan University, the University of Gdańsk, and Gdańsk University of Technology
We teach undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Gdańsk and the Medical University of Gdańsk
We co-create mobile apps from the “Friendly Applications” series and computer programs useful in autism spectrum disorders treatment
We are a member of ASAI, an American association promoting globally the same effective form of treatment offered by IWRD
Together with the University of Gdańsk, we created the Behavior Analyst Certificate in order to train teachers on the highest European level and consequently improve the quality of support received by children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disorders
Already over 16,000 users liked our IWRD profile on Facebook
