Workshop to tackle children's varying language backgrounds

The Rashid Paediatric Therapy Centre is hosting a workshop for parents and teachers on dealing with children of different language backgrounds. Many children in the UAE are educated in a language other than their mother tongue and spend time with carers who are of a different nationality.

A spokeswoman for the centre for disabled children said, "Being exposed to different languages creates a complex problem for children. In the case of children with special needs, it becomes even more difficult, as developmental delay very often involves a delay in the development of comprehension and expression.

"The workshop will focus on how to deal with children from this multiple-language situation." The workshop will be held at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on May 20-21 and the key speaker will be Mary Wickenden, a lecturer in speech therapy at the University of London. For further details contact the centre on 04 3945998.