Experts in UAE: Parents of special children need support

Dubai: The knowledge that your child has special needs may come with a lot of trauma for the parent, who undergoes emotions of shock, denial, anger and guilt. Such parents need to be supported and not judged, said experts in the field of special education.

"We should not judge the parents. Instead, we need to make them feel that there is hope.

"It may take a very long time for a parent to come to terms with it and support from various quarters is required," said Gulshan Kavarana, who runs the Special Family Support (SFS) group for families of children with special needs.

Kavarana, who is also a mother to a girl with special needs, said: "We cannot say that the parents are right or wrong. There are a lot of issues that could be attached, there is social stigma, the mother could be undergoing post partum depression or there could even be pressures from within the family."

More costly

In many cases, parents learn their child has special needs only after a couple of months, sometimes even years. Such children not only require support in terms of medication but also proper education along with care.

Raising and educating them is usually much costlier compared to raising any other child. Apart from schools where children with special needs can get education, Dubai also has support groups for the families of such children.