Dubai: To regulate the number of new centres for people with special needs and to enforce the rights of people with special needs, a private meeting among representatives from various government entities takes place on Sunday.
The meeting is being held to discuss the enforcement of the UAE Disability Law which, according to advocates for the rights for people with disabilities, should be regulated by a single entity.
Organised by ABILITIESme, a regional platform that works to create opportunities for special needs communities, the meeting aims to discuss challenges in the education, health and employment sectors for people with special needs.
Law No. 29/2006 to protect the rights of people with special needs was approved by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2006. The Law guarantees the rights and protection in health, education, work and entrepreneurship and public services for physically challenged people.
However, advocates for the rights of people with special needs say that the law has yet to be implemented in its entirety. They also believe that the Disability Law is yet to recognise people with specific learning disabilities like autism, and yet to be regulated by a central entity.
Speaking to Gulf News, Fahd Bin Al Shaikh, Deputy Chairman of the Autism Trust Foundation (ATF) that has partnered with ABILITIESme to raise awareness about the challenges of special needs children, said that the meeting aims to bring together government entities to discuss regulation of new centres and licensing of therapists.
“Currently, issuances of licences for facilities and therapists involved in taking care of special needs people are being done by different authorities like the Ministries of Labour, Economy, Education, Social Affairs, and Community Development Authority (CDA) etc,” said Al Shaikh.
He said that there should be a central board to certify therapists and regulate centres for people with special needs.
“The law extends to all kinds of disability but doesn’t classify disability by name, for example, autism. If classified correctly, it will help us collate data on the number of people with special needs and expected capacity [facilities],” he said.
If the recommendations are approved, it will be taken to the Cabinet level. I am hoping that we will have a Ministry of Disability in the future,” said Al Shaikh.
From an organiser’s point of view, Prudence Kolong, Manager of Content and Partnership ABILITIESme, told Gulf News, “The preliminary meeting provides a forum for the local community to discuss trends, realities and challenges inherent in the education, health, accessibility and employment sectors for people with special needs. The meeting will be attended by representatives from the authorities of Interior, Social Affairs, Education, Transportation, and Labour.”
On the Disability Law, Claire Graham, an expatriate mother of a five-year-old child with Down’s syndrome told Gulf News that though the Law has provision for inclusive education, it isn’t followed. “Schools say they are inclusive, but they refuse to enrol students claiming lack of learning support staff. Further, the assessment for enrolment should be specific to the condition, not a general assessment,” she said.
