Abu Dhabi centre for autistic children is at capacity

The elite, Emirati-only school will add two more classrooms next year to bring its total enrolment to 112.

A pupil at the New England Centre for Children celebrates his sixth birthday. The centre in Mohammed bin Zayed City, Abu Dhabi, says demand is so high that it will add two classrooms next year, with room for 14 more autistic children. Silvia Razgova / The NationalShow less

ABU DHABI // Two years after moving into its large, state-of-the-art facility in Mohammed bin Zayed City, the New England Centre for Children Abu Dhabi will be at capacity.

In January, the elite Emirati-only school for autistic children will add two more classrooms, making room for 14 pupils and bringing its total enrolment to its maximum 112.

In September, it is also extending the number of transition classrooms it operates in public mainstream schools by two, opening spaces for 12 more students.

“There is very strong demand for seats at NECC-Abu Dhabi and in other autism spectrum disorder programmes in Abu Dhabi,” said Pamela Olsen, programme director. “We have had to manage our growth very carefully so as not to dilute the quality of the programme.”

Modelled on a school of the same name based in Boston, Massachusetts, the NECC-AD is the only one of its kind offering intensive one-to-one instruction to children with autism. It is regulated and funded by Abu Dhabi Education Council.

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability that can significantly affect a person’s social, emotional and communication skills, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is estimated that one in 80 Emirati males and one in 240 females are diagnosed with autism in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, according to data provided by the NECC-AD.

The waiting list at the school is about 90. The age of admission is between three and nine, but the school includes children as old as 14 who were enrolled when it first opened in a villa in 2007.

“When you implement effective evidence-based intervention for very young children, the cost over their lifetime is reduced by more than two-thirds, instead of becoming someone who is forever dependent on society. Many of these children become independent and contribute to society,” said Dr Daniel Gould, the school’s chief clinical officer. “It’s very forward thinking of the government here to recognise that and to invest in these children.”

Each pupil has a personal teacher who monitors their progress. The classrooms are equipped for individual and group learning, and can accommodate seven pupils and their teachers.

The NECC-AD also manages four “transition classrooms” in government schools. The class is made up of six pupils and managed by three teachers.

“Those are for students who have reached a level where we feel integration with typical children is a good idea. They can begin to learn from the typical children. We want to make sure they’re exposed to that, but also still need some supervision from a trained professional in applied behaviour analysis and teaching,” said Catherine Welch, the school’s chief operating officer. “So we put a classroom in the school so they can participate both with the typical children, but also have some of that intensive one-to-one instruction.”

Fourteen pupils have graduated from transition classrooms and been placed in mainstream schools with a shadow-teacher supplied by the NECC-AD. Another eight pupils have been “successfully discharged” and moved to regular schools.

“I don’t think there’s a centre like it in the Middle East,” said Nadine Krikorian, a programme specialist who has been working at the school since it opened.

The school’s contract with Adec is up for renewal in 2017, and Dr Gould said preliminary talks are under way to extend the services. “We’ve presented a long-term proposal to meet the needs of many, many more children to the education council.”