Special needs people can offer a lot to the UAE

Abu Dhabi: Special needs people should be fully integrated into society, and be able to find work like anybody else, according to Dr Mona Al Bahar, a member of the Federal National Council.

Speaking at the ACCESS Abu Dhabi 2015 conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, Dr Mona explained how the UAE’s constitution and legislation has ensured that the rights of special needs people are looked after, but she said more should be done to protect their rights.

According to Dr Mona, finding employment is still a major difficulty for special needs persons, despite the legislation mandating the labour sector to hire people with disabilities.

“People with special needs are a key segment of our human resources, we see special needs people with PhDs and master’s degrees. Yet we see that they face many difficulties in finding jobs, they can offer a lot to our country, so we need to change our perception and amend the legislative umbrella. We face many issues in getting special needs people employed, not just limited to Emiratis, but expatriates as well.”

She also explained how there were a shortage of schools to accommodate children with special needs, and that some schools could only accommodate up to a certain age. “There is a shortage of schools for special needs children, and in some cases when they reach 16 they are left without options to study or work, so there is a big impact on the child as well as the family’s psychology. So we have a challenge in this area and we are working on the legislative side to erase this challenge.”

Both educators and parents should be given more help according to Dr Mona,

“We don’t have enough specialised persons dealing with special needs, and we hear from teachers on how they’re struggling, so we must rethink our process of integration and work on our mistakes. We must make sure specialised educators are trained and qualified to work in our schools, and to also integrate parents as well to help them deal with their special needs children. They need institutional support because it is a big burden on them.”

“Unfortunately we see families who think that having a special needs child is a burden, and this is something we have to get over. Life is beautiful because we are different, so we must embrace the difference and accept that other people are different.”