Hamad Medical Corporation’s Special Education Centre has recently organised several entertaining activities for children with special needs in co-ordination with the Children’s Cultural Centre.
The activities were part of the Centre’s campaign entitled: “I Read” and included visiting the mobile library, where children can enjoy painting, learning and watching drama shows.
“These activities come within an entertaining plan for patients and aim to raise levels of education. We continuously collaborate with voluntary institutions to provide us with entertaining and educational activities for patients, especially during national and religious occasions. We believe that such activities help patients emotionally and relieve their pain. Children are our main target in these campaigns,” HMC Health Professions Awareness and Volunteering Programmes director Balqees al-Khazraji said.
Special Education Centre co-ordinator and acting head Narjis Suleiman said: “These activities are so important in helping to develop different skills in these children as well as entertain them. The Special Education Centre includes 45 children with special needs from different nationalities between three-six years. We also have 30 teachers for special education, in addition to volunteers from HMC’s Health Professions Awareness and Volunteering Programmes.”
“The centre provides physiotherapy, special education and speech therapy. Children are divided into four groups; each group has nine children and a teacher and supervisor. The centre also has special classrooms for children with cochlear implants whom we are preparing for school at age six,” Suleiman added.
The Children’s Cultural Centre’s mobile library co-ordinator Tahani Saleh explained that the “I Read” campaign was part of one of the country’s development goals to improve reading skills for children in addition to helping them learn other new skills.
“We have allocated a mobile bus with different books for all ages to roam between institutions, including Hamad Medical Corporation. “I Read” campaign include art activities, competitions, Do-It-Yourself crafts, and drama and puppet shows,” she said.
Parents of participating children praised the centre’s activities.