By Angel Chan
ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) stated that 6,000 students with disabilities, with the majority suffering for learning difficulties, were integrated into UAE schools.
An Adec official told the Emirates News Agency, WAM, of their strict integration standards, which includes identifying social skills, academic requirements and required preparations to guarantee the students’ success during the integration process.
The standards also include assessing students with disabilities during a transitional period to identify their eligibility to join the integration programme. In cases where they are not prepared, they will take on further training to join the programme at a later date.
According to Adec official, ordinary students are also being prepared for the integration programme, to guarantee positive interactions with fellow students with disabilities. They are also working on harmonising and adapting their curriculum by adjusting the general content, removing inappropriate content for the programme’s target students, and adding specialised subjects that are needed by the students in their social and professional lives.
Adec is training teachers to develop their skills and capacities to respond to the needs of integrated students, as well as to use assistive technologies and develop their preparations for the integration.
The integration process also includes harmonising assessments and tests methods, while highlighting the fact that traditional examinations might pose an obstacle to the performance of integrated students.
The council also mentioned that integration requires communication between teachers, parents and other community associations that work in this area, and includes training parents to participate in school programmes and activities and to learn how to speak to integrated students.
The integration programme includes special classes for autistic students from the New England Centre in Mubarak bin Mohammed School, highlighting that the most popular integration methods consist of classes in ordinary schools that allow students with disabilities to interact with others during long periods of the school day,”he said.
”The integration methods also include a resource room where students with disabilities will receive instant assistance, based on a fixed schedule and their presence in ordinary classes,” he added.
A specialised teacher will also visit the school two or three times a week, to provide periodic individual assistance in specific areas to students with disabilities.