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The article analyzes the evolution of the approach to rehabilitating children with congenital developmental disabilities at a specialized center. Its empirical basis consists of sociological surveys conducted by the author from the mid-1990s through the 2000s among patients and specialists at the Bonum Scientific and Practical Center for Medical and Social Rehabilitation of Children with Congenital and Acquired Developmental Disabilities in Yekaterinburg. The surveys traced the transformation of the center’s work. The emerging social approach is shown to prioritize fuller integration of children with disabilities into society, a move away from closed residential upbringing and education, and the maximum development of social skills that support independent living. Adoption of the social integration approach for children with severe disabilities was accompanied by changes in rehabilitation methods, greater family participation in rehabilitation and improvements in the center’s staffing and organizational policies.