UAE | Education
Special training for special children
From humble beginnings with just eight students in a villa, the Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs has today blossomed into a facility with 270 students.
- By Alice Johnson, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:55 October 23, 2008
- At Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs, every child has an individual education plan.
- Image Credit: Supplied Picture
Dubai: From humble beginnings with just eight students in a villa, the Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs has today blossomed into a facility with 270 students.
Today, the purpose-built centre caters for children with cognitive impairments, including Cerebral Palsy, Down's Syndrome and Autism.
It was established in 1981 and moved to its new premises in 2007, through generous benefaction by Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain, wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Isphana Al Khatib has been Director of the school for the past 10 years, but has been working at the centre for 22 years in total, as a trained physiotherapist.
"Each child's programme is individually-based, so every child has an individual education plan. We have special educators in speech therapy, psychologists, occupational therapists and teachers for music, art and sport. The programme is goal-orientated and it's child specific. We also try to involve the parents as much as possible," she said.
Children can be admitted from the age of 2.5 years, and graduate at the age of 18.
The centre has classroom facilities, which include textile/clothes making, carpentry and art.
Every year the fundraising department, headed by fundraising executive Tushara Abeysuriya, publishes a catalogue of greetings cards and hand-crafted items.
Items in the impressive catalogue include cards made from paintings made by the children, handmade clothes, bags and abayas, and a carpentry range, including book-ends, magazine holders and notebook stands for example.
Future progress
Once the children reach the age of 18, they graduate from the school, and some take on employment.
The centre has a special unit for training, preparing the children for the workplace. This includes a mock-apartment, where pupils learn how to set tables, make beds and operate kitchen equipment.
This training has proved essential for a number of students, particularly the 22 graduates who are currently in open employment, under a scheme funded by Citibank.
Jobs include roles in the hospitality industry, and many of the students work in Dubai's five-star hotels.
Al Noor Training Centre for Children will be holding an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) awareness programme from October 28 to 30.
Al Khatib said: "The programme is designed for anybody that has alternative communication needs - this can be either someone that does not have speech, or has complex communication needs. Since communication is a two-way process, it's important that we raise awareness among people that could be possible partners with this communication. It's not only the parents and teachers in school, but we hope to use these methods to communicate with the community."
The centre has written to a number of schools, universities and malls in Dubai, asking for a dedicated time and space to take the children into the community, with the help of a pre-determined script, to facilitate an AAC experience.
Al Khatib said: "The AAC experience involves whatever the alternative method of communication that the child is using. It could be high-tech or low-tech; it could be something as simple as signs or gestures. The idea is that some communication happens. We want to let the community know what AAC is, and what it's all about, because it has to be an active partner in the communication."
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