If you are affected by a disability, you can apply for your disability to be determined under certain conditions. The degree of disability is also determined.

The offer of the interdisciplinary counselling and early detection teams as well as the early education centres is aimed at handicapped or disabled children in the age group from birth to school entry.

Diagnosis as early as possible and subsequent support should eliminate or mitigate the consequences of a disability and support the children in their natural development.

If you are blind or have a similarly severe visual impairment, you can receive financial support from the Blindenhilfe under certain conditions.

Blind or severely visually impaired people who have their usual place of residence in Bremen are entitled to financial support to compensate for disability-related disadvantages or additional needs. The state care allowance is paid as a monthly allowance and is independent of income and assets:

• The state care allowance currently amounts to 474.17 euros per month.
• Children under 18 are entitled to a state care allowance of currently 237.09 euros per month from the age of one.
• Blind and severely disabled persons who live in an institution and for whom the costs of their stay are borne in whole or in part by public funds receive 50 percent of the state care allowance. Self-payers who live in an institution are not entitled to the state care allowance. In this case, the benefits provided by the nursing care insurance fund are taken into account in full.
• Benefits from long-term care insurance are fully offset against the state long-term care allowance. As a result, the entitlement to state nursing care benefits may be reduced or eliminated altogether.
• The income- and asset-dependent care and blind assistance benefits according to SGB XII can also be claimed if necessary. The state care allowance is credited in full or in part.

In Bremen, blind people can apply for the so-called blind assistance according to the SGBXII in addition to the state care allowance due to blindness, provided that they have only a small income or assets at their disposal. They can apply for the blind assistance as well as the blind allowance/state care allowance at the responsible social center or specialized service of their place of residence.

The blind assistance according to the Social Code XII, which supplements the state care allowance in the case of low income and assets, is currently as follows for

• adult blind people: 806,40 Euro
• underage blind people: 403,89 Euro

Accompanying assistance in working life includes all measures and services that are necessary to ensure that the severely disabled person can participate in working life and thus in society and to avoid dismissals.

Accompanying help in working life can be:

• financial benefits to employers and to severely disabled persons, for example, for the design of the workplace to make it accessible to the disabled
• professional counselling and personal assistance by the Integration Office
• psychosocial care of severely disabled people by the integration service

Benefits provided by rehabilitation institutions - especially pension insurance institutions - have priority.

Accompanying assistance in working life includes all measures and services that are necessary to ensure that the severely disabled person can participate in working life and thus in society and to avoid dismissals.

Accompanying help in working life can be:

• financial benefits to employers and to severely disabled persons, for example, for the design of the workplace to make it accessible to the disabled
• professional counselling and personal assistance by the Integration Office
• psychosocial care of severely disabled people by the integration service

Benefits provided by rehabilitation institutions - especially pension insurance institutions - have priority.

In the six recognised early intervention centres of the City of Bremen, parents whose child has been diagnosed with a (threatening) disability are advised. Parents who observe that their child is developing much more slowly than children of the same age should also contact the early intervention centres.

Depending on the child's need for support, the child will receive, on the basis of a detailed examination, a curative educational service of early support or a so-called complex service combining medical-therapeutic services (e.g. physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, psychological support) with curative educational support.

Depending on the support and treatment plan drawn up for each child, support takes place in the early intervention centre, at home or in the day nursery. It is also possible that the medical-therapeutic service is provided independently of the curative education support.