Melanie Matl aus Füssen ist Mutter einer Tochter mit Behinderung und kämpft für mehr Inklusion

In its Füssen local section, the Kreisbote portrays Melanie Matl, a mother of three children, one of whom has a disability. Her aim, she says, is for everyone to notice that every child is unique and carries particular abilities — with children with a disability, you simply have to look more closely to see them. (Translated)

The article tells of this family's everyday life: in the first school year, the nearest suitable Förderschule (special school) was in Kempten or Kaufbeuren. Getting up shortly after five, the school bus at 6.20 am, three hours of travelling a day, home again at five in the afternoon. From year two the child attended the mainstream primary school with a school companion. It tells of invitations that stopped after nursery, and of the family making use of the right to inclusive education so that their daughter could attend the mainstream primary school with a Schulbegleiterin — a school companion who supports a child through the school day. „Everyone talks about inclusion, but the reality looks quite different,“ Matl is quoted as saying. She praises the schools expressly, but speaks plainly about the exclusion — „we do not want to complain, but the exclusion is heart-rending“ — and points to Italy, where children with a disability attend mainstream primary schools. (Translated)

The second part of the article describes what she made of it: the picture book „Die Reise der besonderen Sterne“ with an accompanying workbook that lets schools explore inclusion from year two onwards — and, in 2024, the founding of her agency. The Kreisbote also reports that Matl herself was turned down by au pair agencies because they do not place with families raising a child with a disability.

On the agency's work the article records this: the au pairs bring experience of disability from their own families, complete a work placement in their home country and are trained through video calls. After the au pair year, Matl helps them look for a training place. „The au pairs have experience, passion and, most importantly of all, their heart in the right place,“ she says. (Translated)

The piece matters here because it describes the starting point of our work. How we place today, and how the au pairs are prepared, is set out under our services (in German); what a family needs to bring is described under becoming a host family (in German). If you would rather talk than read, you can arrange a free introductory call (in German).