Ministry registers over 100 new differently-abled students

Wafa Hamad Bin Sulaiman, Director of Welfare & Rehabilitation Centre Department for People of Determination, revealed the registration of (174) male and female students as per the recorded registration system. About (135) students have been accepted so far while other cases have been transferred to the Ministry of Education of inclusion in schools. Some cases were rejected due to their ineligibility of disability conditions or their inclusion in public education.

Concerning the Emirates Early Intervention Programme, the Director of Welfare & Rehabilitation Department for People of Determination said that (76) children have been registered to benefit from the early intervention services for children with developmental delays under 6 years old. The number of children who were transferred from the early intervention programme during this year reached (61), some of them were transferred to public education schools while others to the people of determination centres.

Wafa Hamad Bin Sulaiman mentioned that the new academic year 2019/2020 theme “Welcome Back” supports the joy of the administration and academic staff in receiving the children and enhances the students’ inclusion in schools’ atmosphere. With regard to the training of both technical and educational staff, the Welfare & Rehabilitation Department for People of Determination will organise several training courses and programmes for the staff on topics related to individual educational plans, modification of oral and audio behaviour of mental disorder categories, in addition to a course on how to apply rehabilitation and behavioural modification of people of determination and other courses about early intervention. Early intervention treatment support staff will benefit from the training courses as they will highlight modern treatment techniques for people of determination in physiotherapy and linguistic therapy.

The People of Determination Centres provide a range of rehabilitation and educational services aimed at developing the skills of people of determination and integrating them into public social life. These services include physio and functional therapy services, linguistic treatment, in addition to psychological assessment, behaviour modification and classroom services that focus on students’ knowledge and cognitive skills. At the vocational rehabilitation stage, these services encourage the people of determination to be independent and train them on the professional skills they need in the employment phase and obtain job opportunities after their graduation.

It is noted that the Ministry of Community Development provides its educational, training and rehabilitation services for the People of Determination Centres in its (7) centres at Dubai, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, as well as the centres of autism, early intervention, severe and multiple disabilities.

Recently, the Ministry of Community Development, MOCD, announced that as of the end of 2018, there were 223 associations, non-profit organisations, NGOs, and social Takaful funds managed and supervised by the ministry.

The list comprises 185 associations, 17 Takaful funds and 21 NGOs registered in the ministry’s database.

According to MOCD, the associations were divided across various groups, including 63 for public and cultural services, 34 professional associations, and 29 for the folk arts. Other associations include 23 concerned with humanitarian services, 15 community clubs, ten theatres and eight women’s associations. The registered associations are found across the seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi totalling 70, followed by Dubai with 48 associations. Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah had 28 and 15 registered associations, respectively. Fujairah had 15 such associations registered, while Ajman and Umm Al Qaiwain housed seven and five associations respectively.

Commenting on the statistics released, Hessa Tahlak, Assistant Under-Secretary of Social Development at MOCD, said that civil society organisations in the UAE play a prominent and tangible role in the advancement and development of society.

Tahlak added that the success of a nation is measured by the capacity of civil society to set up and implement developmental social programmes that benefit all community members.