Welcome to SPRINT’s website.

SPRINT is an association.
SPRINT is based in Paris.
Paris is the capital city of France.
The people who work at SPRINT are called members.
SPRINT members speak English and French.
SPRINT members are healthcare professionals.
Healthcare is the treatment of health problems
with medical services.
SPRINT members are therapists and psychologists
who provide medical services.

SPRINT is an acronym.
An acronym is a word formed from the first letter of each word in a phrase.
SPRINT’s acronym phrase is:
Sharing Professional Resources, Information and New Techniques.

SPRINT has 4 goals:

1/ To help English-speaking expats in France.
An expat is someone who has left their own country
and is now living in another country.
SPRINT helps expats who speak English
and who have come to live in France.
SPRINT helps expats understand healthcare in France.
Healthcare is the treatment of health problems
with medical services.
Healthcare is different in every country.
Expats can be confused by the healthcare of another country.
SPRINT understands French healthcare.
SPRINT helps expats to be less confused.
Members of SPRINT answer e-mails and phone calls
from expats who have questions.
SPRINT answers those questions.

2/ To help families with special-needs children.
Special-needs are physical or mental disabilities.
A disability is something that limits a person’s activity.
Special-needs children have difficulty doing activities
that other children find simple.
Special-needs children require help to do activities
at home and at school.
There are different types of special-needs.
Each type has its own characteristics.
Each type needs different help.
It can be difficult to find the right help
for an expat in a new country.
SPRINT understands special-needs
and SPRINT understands French healthcare.
SPRINT helps families with special-needs children
find the right help in France.

3/ To inform teachers in bilingual schools.
Bilingual schools are schools that teach
in two different languages.
SPRINT works with schools that teach
in English and in French.
There are many bilingual schools in Paris.
SPRINT informs the teachers of special-needs children.
Special-needs children require extra help at school.
SPRINT tells teachers about the characteristics
of special-needs children.
SPRINT tells teachers about the help they can give
to the special-needs children in their class.
Sometimes teachers can’t help special-needs children
as much as they require.
Special-needs children can be accompanied by an adult.
This adult will stay with the special-needs child all day
and help the child do their activities.
SPRINT explains to the teachers
how the adult helps the special-needs child.
SPRINT can also help the adult to understand better
what the special-needs child requires.

4/ To network with English-speaking professionals in France.
To network is to interact with others
and to share information.
SPRINT brings healthcare professionals together
in meetings and in online groups.
Healthcare professionals are people who provide treatment
and advice for people who need care.
SPRINT has meetings every month.
Healthcare professionals can talk together
and share new ideas
and advise each other.
To be in a meeting,
healthcare professionals must be a member of SPRINT.
To be a member,
healthcare professionals must pay a fee.
A fee is an amount of money.
The money is used in SPRINT’s projects.

SPRINT has 4 main projects:

1/ SPRINT gives mini-grants to families in need.
A mini-grant is a small amount of money.
A mini-grant is a gift given by SPRINT.
SPRINT chooses families in need
and gives them some money.
A family in need does not have much money.
A family in need can’t pay for much healthcare.
If a family in need has a special needs child,
SPRINT can give them a mini-grant.
The mini-grant will pay for treatment.
SPRINT gives four mini-grants each year,
two in the autumn and two in the spring.
Each mini-grant is about 500€.
If a family in need would like a mini-grant
they must contact Michelle Bennani-Smires.
Michelle is SPRINT's secretary.
This is Michelle’s e-mail: secretary.sprintfrance@gmail.com

2/ SPRINT helps expat parents choose a school for their child.
Expat parents want the best school
for their special needs child.
If the expat parents are new to the country
they don’t know which schools are best.
If their child speaks English
the parents must choose a bilingual school.
Bilingual schools are schools that teach
in two different languages.
Each bilingual school has different rules
about special needs children.
Some schools have extra adults to help.
Some schools have ramps for wheelchairs.
Some schools have special classes.
Parents must decide which school is best
for their special needs child.
SPRINT talks to all the bilingual schools in Paris.
SPRINT finds out what rules each school has.
SPRINT advises parents on which school would be the best
for their special needs child.

3/ SPRINT organizes events for the public about special needs.
SPRINT’s members can write speeches
on subjects that they know well.
The speech must also be about special needs.
A doctor can write a speech about special needs medicine.
A psychologist can write a speech about special needs psychology.
SPRINT organizes a meeting open to the public.
Open to the public means that anyone can come and listen.
The member can read the speech to the public.
The speech can teach the public things they didn’t know.
The speech helps people understand special needs.
SPRINT organizes four speeches every year.

4/ SPRINT connects LSA’s with parents.
LSA’s are Learning Support Assistants.
LSA’s are adults who work with special-needs children
at school and during activities.
Some LSA’s stay with the special needs child all day.
Some LSA’s stay with the special needs child for one activity.
LSA’s understand special needs
and help the child do activities.
LSA’s are assigned to special needs children
by the French government.
To assign means to be given a job.
Parents must fill out a form asking for an LSA.
Most LSA’s attributed by the French government
do not speak English.
This can be complicated for special needs children
who only speak English.
SPRINT looks for English-speaking LSA’s.
SPRINT checks the LSA is a good LSA.
SPRINT connects the LSA and the expat parents
by sharing phone numbers and e-mails.

Contacting SPRINT:

If you have questions
you can e-mail our secretary Michelle Bennani-Smires.
This is her e-mail: secretary.sprintfrance@gmail.com

You can also contact the president of SPRINT.
Her name is Grainne Dunleavy.
This is her e-mail: president.sprintfrance@gmail.com


We hope this Easy-To-Read page has helped you.
We wish you a happy day.