Minister calls for greater parental role in treating differently-abled children
- 20 Feb 2022
Gulf Today, Staff Reporter
Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid, Cabinet Minister and Minister of Community Development, visited Sanad Village, the world's largest rehabilitation centre for people of determination in the Sustainable City in Dubai.
During the visit, Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid emphasised the importance of the social inclusion of people of determination, allowing them to integrate in the community and take part in any social, recreational, or sports activity, with the support and supervision of their families, who are the children's first and best support system.
She also called for the active and strategic role for parents of people of determination in treatment and rehabilitation programmes, without which the process could not be successful, since parents are the biggest supporters of their children, complementing and supporting the services they receive at centers at their homes.
She toured the village to learn about the facilities and services that are tailored to empower the village's children, obtain the necessary skills for self-reliance and inclusion within the community.
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The minister was received by Engineer Faris Saeed, chairman of Diamond Developers, and accompanied by the department heads of Sanad Village.
Her visit to Sanad Village highlighted the role of the private sector in providing services to people of determination, and the need for community partnership between the various sectors to achieve the common goal of providing the best international practices of rehabilitation and training programmes in the interest of the people of determination and their parents.
She toured the 30,000-square metre facility which has a capacity of 500 students, learning about the sustainable concepts and witnessing children who benefit from the centre’s holistic and integrated approach towards treating and understanding autism and other related disorders.
The tour included the fully equipped classrooms and physical and behavioural therapeutic facilities where children are assessed as an ongoing, continuous part of care at Sanad Village. During the tour, Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid interacted with therapists and specialists, who work on refining the technical and craft skills of students through workshops and helping them in their journey towards independence.
She lauded the efforts of Sanad Village in ensuring the real-life simulation areas such as the mall, movie theatre, and mock airport, which are vital components in enabling children at the Village to prepare for the transition into the bigger society.
Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid also toured the outer grounds of Sanad Village, including the exercise facilities, playgrounds, community gardens, and biodomes, which give children at the Village access to nature and help them have regular outdoor and sports activities.
Sanad Village offers a holistic, comprehensive and integrated approach towards Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) providing pathways into society for individuals and a support system that focuses on the whole family.
Sanad Village is the region’s largest centre dedicated to understanding autism and other related disorders. There is no one-size fits all. All stories are unique. Sanad is dedicated to building a strong and lasting foundation for a productive life by optimising the potential of each child.
A recent report said Hessa Bint Essa Buhumaid, Minister for Community Development, stressed that the UAE wellbeing indicator achieved accelerated progress in social, healthcare, educational and economic aspects supported by the UAE leadership and its future vision in light of the changes to enhance the new methodology of government action.
Coinciding with the year of the 50th and in line with the prosperity and success of "Expo 2020 Dubai", she noted that the recovery from COVID-19 pandemic in the UAE confirms the leading rank in the total number of vaccines worldwide. These explicit indicators for controlling the epidemiological situation emphasise that public health is a government priority for wellbeing in the UAE.
The announcement was made when Buhumaid chaired the virtual Second Wellbeing Council Meeting with the participation of members of the Wellbeing Council from federal and local government authorities and executive councils all over the UAE.