PLEA FOR SUPPORT

Bahrain residents are being urged to back a sponsorship campaign and support a school providing specialist care and education for autistic youngsters.

The Alia School For Early Intervention, based in Sitra, currently provides specialised education and facilities for 87 students who suffer from varying degrees of the disorder which affects the brain’s development of social and communication skills.

Many of the students, aged three to 21, come from families who have difficulty paying the school’s minimal fee of BD150 a month.

Programme supervisor Haidy Haleem says that although the school fully appreciates the support it receives from a number of corporate and government sponsors, it is appealing for continuous monthly donations rather than one-off payments. This long-term support will help with the cost of running the facilities and paying teachers’ salaries.

“There are currently 90 teachers at the school. To pay their salaries and cover the cost of various resources and extra help from speech therapists, gym instructors and swimming instructors, it actually costs us around BD450 a month per child,” said Mrs Haleem.

“We can’t just exclude a student because they cannot afford to pay the fees so, we either have to sponsor them – if we are capable of doing so – or find a sponsor willing to cover the basic cost.”

The centre was established in November 2004 by the Bahrain Society for Children with Behaviour and Communication Disorders and is certified to train parents, teachers and other professionals in educating children with such difficulties.

“There are students who are applying for sponsorship from the society itself. However, with 245 youngsters on the waiting list, spaces are limited,” added Mrs Haleem.

The children follow a range of interventions, depending on their individual needs. Most of them follow the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) programmes. This is a one-on-one approach that teaches the children various skills in receptive language, expressive language, and imitation, play skills, independent work and academics. In addition to the ABA programmes, the children also follow the Miller Method, a system which addresses the developmental requirements of children on an autism spectrum. 

Teacher Sheeja Jose says that individual assistance is vital to teach the students functional life skills.

Ms Jose said: “At certain levels it’s one teacher-one student, so, for example, if I’m teaching a student how to count I’ll go through it with them individually. Once they understand how it works we move them to an independent skill station where they have to do it themselves.”

“Every day, each student gets two one-on-one sessions where they are taught four or five different lessons. This time is so important because it’s just you and them and you get to see how much progress they make.”

Renu Raj has been a teacher at the school for seven years and says that the most rewarding part of her job is seeing the children surpass the expectations of their parents.

“I love seeing a student make even the smallest success like looking at us or smiling at us; it’s a big step for them.

“I had a child in my class who was unable to speak when she first came here; she had behavioural problems and was afraid of people and being involved in things.

“We were able to teach her how to overcome that and how to be functional. Now she gets to do her own shopping, which is something her mother never dreamt she would ever be able to do.

“She gets to be just like a ‘normal’ kid and, in the end, for the parents it’s all about ‘my kid being normal’ and being able to do something academic.”

Since its opening, the centre has helped educate and care for students from many different nationalities and, with the support of GulfWeekly readers, it can continue to help disadvantaged children live fuller lives and become more included in their communities.

Mrs Haleem added: “There are many families from many nationalities who have autistic children; this centre is not just for Bahraini students, it’s for everyone.

“If anyone would like to help out by sponsoring a child, they are welcome to contact us. Although we fully appreciate one-off donations, we would prefer continuous monthly support because it helps us to help the children for longer.”

Sponsorship forms are available at the centre (Building 5 Road 1115 Block 611, Sitra) and on their website. For details contact the centre on 17730960 or visit.www.childbehavior.org