Dubai: The admission policy in Dubai schools must change to accept a broader range of people with learning disabilities, special needs education experts say.
Special needs education experts also believe training teachers to cater to children with special needs is much more effective than hiring a shadow teacher — a common practice in UAE schools.
“In order for schools to successfully integrate children with special needs and comply with the country’s agenda, they must first change their policy and look at accepting a broader range of disabilities, because right now schools are accepting children with mild disabilities believing that they are easier to deal with,” said Andre Westerman, Director of Education and Training at Ebdaah at a press conference on Wednesday.
During the conference, Ebdaah — a specialist training consultancy that delivers support to disability management — announced the launch of a one-day conference that will discuss the inclusion of children with learning disabilities in UAE schools on February 28.
Westerman said there is a special emphasis on private schools in Dubai to integrate students because the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) introduced special need education as a main criterion that schools will be evaluated on in annual inspections.
He said Ebdaah has been in talks with KHDA and is offering special education training for schools in the areas highlighted for improvement by the KHDA annual education report.
Chris Huntley, Head of Special Needs at Ebdaah, who used to work in Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre for special needs, said when she worked at the centre, many children who had mild disabilities and should be in a mainstream school could not find one to accept them.
“So, children who have mild disabilities have nowhere to go. They don’t belong in centres and mainstream schools won’t accept them so there is a massive gap. This also caused the centre to have a long waiting list.”
Huntley said the solution is to get teachers in main schools trained and confident to deal with a wide range of children. She said that opting for a shadow teacher is not enough because in many cases these shadow teachers are not trained.
“In some cases, when schools asks for someone to support the child, parents often bring nannies that are not trained. It is also good for the student to be part of the class instead of having a teacher follow him around because it teaches them independence.”
She also said units, which are classes or departments in mainstream schools that cater specifically to children with special needs, can be effective in the integration process.
“Many people fear that that this will exclude instead of include children, but if done properly it can help children integrate easier.”
Huntley said mainstream integration is not always a good thing. “It depends on the case. If a child has a severe disability then it can have a negative effect.”
The conference held by Ebdaah on Feburary 28 at Media Rotana Hotel will see the participation of Fatima Bel Rehif, Head of Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau at the KHDA. KHDA will lead the discussion on dyslexia, dyspraxia (immaturity of organisation of movement), autism spectrum disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
