Ibrahim Saleem (Abu Dhabi)
Educational inclusion is an educational practice based on the principle of fully integrating students of determination into the general education classrooms in the school. The philosophy of inclusion, according to experts, is based on the idea that every individual – regardless of his disability – has the right to full integration into the fabric of society. And mixing with a number of children, which helps introverted children and autistic children to engage with their parents of children, including the blind, and creates generations capable of humane interaction with this segment.
The UAE has taken important steps that are among the most prominent in the region and globally in terms of educating children of determination in general, through “integration”, including those with visual needs in particular, with ordinary children in the normal educational environment to the maximum extent possible. The least restrictive environment”, and the mergers achieved amazing results that exceeded the imaginations of some parents, as they watch their children as they develop day after day and their lives change for the better, and they become more integrated with the society surrounding them, and a number of factors interacted with the mergers in the state, including the efforts of institutions and government sectors In protecting the rights of people of determination, legislation and laws that guarantee the rights of people of determination, changing the society’s view of disability, the efforts of parents with their children of determination to develop their abilities and potentials to the maximum extent possible, and the results of evaluation studies in the field of special education carried out by the centers of determination for inclusive education services in the United Arab Emirates.
At the outset, Mohamed Nasr, a specialist in intellectual disability, confirmed that the UAE motto is “Every child has the right to education,” and its federal laws mandated education to include all educational levels up to the age of eighteen. The state also supports educational services and provides special educational tools and means for people of determination to fully activate their developmental role in society.
He stressed the importance of inclusion, which has changed the lives of many for the better, thanks to the state’s care for all segments, including people of determination, and their right to obtain quality education, each according to the quality of their disability, and explained that the importance of inclusion lies in several points, including the development of national identity. The category of people of determination is that it is socially acceptable and that it participates with ordinary students, feels confident and valuable in life, and the student acquires new skills that make him face challenges and life difficulties, which allows for social growth and reduces stigma with disability.
Nasr explained that integration develops the individual’s integrated personality, as education here is not limited to cognitive development only, but what is meant by comprehensive education is that which develops all aspects of the personality, body, spirit and mind, and modifies the child’s behavior. It earns him a good psychological development that helps to modify his behavior.
As well as the importance of inclusion for ordinary children, as they know from a young age the needs of students of determination and interact with them at an early stage, and this gives them the skill to deal with them and know their abilities and makes them feel the importance of people of determination in society.
The intellectual disability specialist dealt with some issues related to people of determination, which clearly reveal the interest of the state. Federal Law No. 29 of 2006 on the rights of the disabled and amended by Federal Law No. 14 of 2009 is the first law issued in the country to protect people of determination, and the law provides for rights and care, and equal opportunities for them in the fields of education, health care, training and rehabilitation, and aims to guarantee their rights and provide all services within the limits of their abilities and capabilities.
One of the most important things that the Ministry of Education has developed for its children of determination, is that it has established since 2008 a department for people of determination (formerly the Department of Special Education), which works to promote and secure their rights, and the possibility for them to have the same educational opportunities available to other students without people of determination. In addition to providing highly specialized teachers with behavioral skills that give them the competence to teach and care for them, and provide all services and assistive technologies free of charge for students of determination in public schools (these direct services have been transferred to the Emirates Education Foundation since 2020).
Nasr enumerated the services provided to students of determination in schools, including: “creating the school environment, such as providing ramps, elevators, and toilets designated for people of determination, providing special buses, and creating the classroom environment as well for all categories of disabilities with appropriate tools, means and techniques according to each category, and preparing special education classes and education resource rooms.” and the provision of specialized human cadres to provide all services to students of determination by qualified specialists (special education teacher – teacher assistant – escort – sign language interpreter – Braille education specialist – visual impairment / visual impairment specialist – psychologist – specialist in communication disorders – education specialist private).
As well as providing a service of assessment and diagnosis of students of determination by a multidisciplinary team, and providing support services and individual and group treatment and rehabilitation sessions for students of determination, each according to his needs, such as (speech and language sessions – Braille education sessions – behavior modification sessions – sign language sessions – individual sessions for students with disabilities). of determination), and providing advisory, awareness and guidance sessions for parents of students of determination, the aim of which is to provide support and guidance to parents to ensure the successful integration of their children, provide devices and assistive technologies for students of determination according to disability categories on an annual basis, integrate people of determination in participations, competitions and activities, and develop activities and programs Their own suits their abilities and the development of their skills.
For his part, the consultant, Dr. Karim Mansour, professor of mental health, confirmed that in general, people of determination in the United Arab Emirates and the visually impaired are considered the most fortunate among people with different disabilities in other countries, as the state, represented by the school education institution, seeks to implement the policy of inclusion in all its forms from Providing academic integration to reach societal integration, where the centers of concern for inclusive education services and government schools provide all educational aids and visual aids for cases of visual impairment and blindness. (IPad) and on it stands special educational programs and applications, electronic manual magnifiers, flexible lenses, ordinary manual magnifiers, and magnifying devices that can be connected to TV screens and computer screens to make learning more flexible and interesting.
He said that for blind cases, their teaching method and teaching strategies may differ, but the goal is the same, which is to learn and integrate the student better, as Perkins devices are provided to teach students to read and write in Braille, and NoteTouch and NoteTouch Plus devices are provided to convert the written text into prominent texts and audible material. And the Epiaf device for designing prominent maps and graphics.. The faculties of education and the school education institution seek to train human cadres to use these devices to train their children with visual needs.
We cannot overlook the role of the state in promoting the visual integration of people of determination by providing and securing transportation, transportation and treatment as well, especially since they have had good employment opportunities in the public and private sectors after the issuance of a state-wide law on people with disabilities, whose provisions stipulate the eligibility to work For people with disabilities according to their qualifications and abilities, in addition to the state’s signature of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and preparing society to accept this category by celebrating the activities of the White Cane for the Blind on the fifteenth of October and the International Day of Braille on the fourth of January.
Fatima Al-Suwaidi: Comprehensive care provided by the state to people of determination in schools
Fatima Abdullah Juma Al-Suwaidi, “Umm Shamma,” said: I am happy with the integration, which reflected positively on my daughter. It was provided for people of determination in government schools, and it provided qualified teachers with high qualifications in educating our children, and it also provided special educational aids for people of determination.
And she continued: The most important thing was when I decided to enroll her in a nursery near the house when she was about 3 years old, and I was worried, but the beginning was good for her, as she benefited a lot from the nursery and considered it a preparation for her for the next year, thank God and thanks to God I saw in my daughter Its ability to integrate and learn, which is why I decided when I learned that there is a merger in government schools in the media and the news grabbed me and went looking for the issue seriously to prepare it for the next year and register it in government schools to have a seat on the school benches.
Her acceptance for me was the real happiness that my daughter will enroll next year in government schools under the name of children of integration, and no one knows how I feel and feel as a mother. From the Al-Ittihad newspaper platform, I would like to extend a special thanks to all the staff, including administrators, teachers and assistants, for their cooperation and attention, as they contributed to the development of my daughter with them and the improvement of the level of my little girl.
She said: We thank our wise leaders for the attention they have given to her children, and as a mother, I have noticed that my daughter is improving academically day by day thanks to the integration process. From kindergarten and I enjoy talking about her day at school. I was often attracted by her behavior and I look at her with amazement, and this encouraged me to pay more attention and cooperate more with the school administration and teachers for the benefit of my daughter.
When my daughter graduated from kindergarten, she was fully convinced that she needed to continue to integrate what I saw on her personality, so I took advantage of the summer vacation to register her in the summer centers so that she could continue and be more integrated with others. Fortunately for us, I found what I was hoping for. From the first day in school, I found interest in the students, including my daughter, from the school principal to the administrative staff and teachers. I thank them very much and I will not fulfill their right because they deserve thanks and appreciation for what they gave me. They cooperated with me in many areas and skills. Which made my daughter a free-spirited, talkative, improved academic and became more integrated and more fluent in conversation. I found in her the spirit of cooperation with her friends and became sociable. She loves to participate in activities and events and compete with her other friends. Today, I was amazed by what I saw. Yes, I reached what I had hoped for. The merger had a great impact on improving the level of the merged people and their families, and all thanks to our wise leadership and everyone who provides work for the blood Jane and People of Determination.
Marwa Ibrahim: Spreading societal awareness to support, support and understand people of determination
Marwa Ibrahim, a mother of children of determination (mental disability and autism spectrum disorder), shared her experience and the difficulties she faced, and she and her children were able to overcome. It also focused on integrating them in various “educational and professional” fields, as well as spreading societal awareness to support, support and understand people of determination with all their disabilities. . I share my experience that changed my life to see strength, determination and determination from these challenges and how acceptance, love and awareness make this disability a catalyst for change and development, and I am proud of what they have achieved. She said: The word disability had a great and shocking impact on myself, as it is difficult to accept differences, challenges and difficulties that cannot even be imagined, as we discover and touch them in our daily lives with different and varying situations, and these challenges we faced with strength, determination and insistence and how acceptance, love and awareness Make this disability a catalyst for change and development, and they were included, as my daughter with a disability was diagnosed with borderline disability and learning difficulties. She pointed out that she faced great challenges at the beginning, and the lack of acceptance of her abilities and exposure to unconscious societal situations (such as bullying), which had a negative psychological impact on her, but with awareness and interest in social and educational integration by harnessing the necessary energies and requirements, commensurate with their abilities, these obstacles were overcome.
Today I share my joy that my daughter has graduated from high school with a very good rate and started her university career. She is proud of her achievements, confident in her abilities and the support of the community for her, and this is of course the outcome of the wise vision of our honorable state by believing in the capabilities of our sons and daughters, integrating them and providing them with the best societal opportunities, and affirmed that with integration and acceptance we make miracles and break Obstacles that limit their capabilities.
She expressed her hope to devote more efforts to containing children with autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome and other disabilities and integrating them and exploiting their distinct creative energies in vocational rehabilitation, as they have their own mark at work if I was discovered and employed in the right place, and I hope to share my joy with my son (intellectual disability). and Autism Spectrum Disorder) with his achievements and professional rehabilitation, insured that our leadership will meet their requests and needs to take into their hands.
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