DUBAI // Mariam Khamis believes there are no limits to how much her daughter Khadeya can achieve.
Khadeya, who has Down syndrome, was first enrolled at the Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre when she was six months old. Now, aged five, the Emirati attends pre-kindergarten at the Collegiate American School in Dubai along with mainstream pupils.
Her success has been a revelation for Mrs Khamis.
“I had the wrong idea that Down syndrome children die early, but when I came here I saw how they are nurturing children in a natural environment, and teaching us to help her live like a normal person. Now I don’t see any limits for her. She is the sunshine of my house. For me the centre is like Khadeya’s family.”
First based in Academic City, the centre moved to a custom-built facility in Al Manara just off Sheikh Zayed Road on Wednesday, where it is hoped staff will be able to accommodate the 100 Emirati children on a waiting list for places by the end of the year.
“Our ultimate aim is that in a six-month period we will have no waiting list, and we clear all the 100 children waiting to join,” said Khaled Al Kamda, the director general of the Community Development Authority.
The centre, a CDA initiative, provides free assessments, counselling, speech and language and physiotherapy for Emirati children identified with a range of special needs, including Down syndrome and autism, from birth until six years.
The facility, which cares for 70 children, has two physiotherapy and 15 therapy rooms to aid its aim of involving parents.
“The parent is a part of our programme because we find people tend to forget the impact on the family, so the job of our psychologists and psychiatrists is to help parents handle the children and to take a load off them. When we give knowledge to parents to be implemented at home, we can gauge the progress here,” Mr Al Kamda said.
The facility was inaugurated by Sheikh Mansour Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Supreme Committee to Protect the Rights of People with Disabilities.
Mr Al Kamda said parents should have their children assessed early. “One issue we are facing is that sometimes parents don’t believe they and the child need help. This is denial.
“They go from doctor to doctor thinking a prescription or injection will make the child better.
“First, the parents have to accept, seek help and stay with a long-term programme because this is not like flu that you can take some medication.”
Six more therapists will soon be recruited to the 20-strong staff to cope with increased capacity, while the centre also has plans to take physiotherapy, and speech and language consultation and assessment services on the road, with two mobile rehabilitation vehicles conducting sessions across the emirates. These services are free for Emiratis.
“This is our outreach to the community, and will reach even rural areas,” said Sheikha Dr Alia Humaid Al Qassimi, the CDA’s director of social programmes and inclusion.
“Our aim is to work with the family because they are the key, they decide the goals and we work with them to identify the barriers, and go past.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae
