Every child is completely unique and needs a lot of time. When children feel respected and heard, they do not need handling.
Sharq Village and Spa, a Ritz-Carlton hotel, demonstrated this by hosting a 3-hour cooking class for students of Step by Step Centre for Special Needs recently, in a bid to help them discover their inner chefs and also learn how to follow instructions and co-operate with each other. 
It was a completely hands-on kids cooking class, filled with fun while being informative. The class was conducted by Chef Evangelos inside the kitchen of the hotel’s Al Dana Restaurant. They were given the opportunity to learn cooking techniques, kitchen safety and how to prepare healthy and delicious pasta.
After the class ended in about two hours, the students tasted their creations and left the hotel carrying lasting memories and smile on their faces.
This was the second class organised by the hotel under its Junior Chef programme. The programme is part of the Ritz-Carlton Community Footprints Year and is an initiative by the Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility for Sharq Village & Spa Hotel, Fadoua al-Sibaei.
“The Junior Chef programme is designed for children from Step by Step Centre for Special Needs. It started last month and will go on till the end of this year. Every month we will invite children to our restaurants’ kitchens to learn something new,” Fadoua tells Community.
“First of all, the chef gives the children a presentation on how to use different tools in the kitchen and how to maintain safety. In the 3-hour long class, the children learn to prepare something new every month. Last month, it was pizza and this time it was pasta,” she adds.
Fadoua says the children were excited on learning the new skills and on seeing the results. The children from Step by Step will keep coming to the hotel throughout the year, engaged with a different restaurant every time, she adds.
The Community Footprints is social and environmental responsibility strategy of the hotel and is defined by the distinctive Community Footprints logo of a heart formed by footprints, symbolising the hotel’s “genuine commitment to the local communities.” 
They say they are proud to partner with local organisations that provide a safe haven and nurturing environment for children. Through ‘Succeed Through Service,’ their skills-based volunteer efforts include mentoring young students in life and career skills.
Community Footprints also partners with local organisations to concentrate energies where they can make the biggest difference. From providing training opportunities, building homes, cooking and serving food at shelters and providing essential resources, every contribution helps.
Step by Step Centre for Special Needs is one of the leading institutes in Qatar for special education. The institute aims to holistically address the academic, social, emotional needs of students with complex learning difficulties and differences.
Through its different programmes, the school caters to children with special needs. One of the aspects is speech and language therapy. At the school, the therapists administer tests and examinations, and observe children to diagnose and evaluate speech, voice, language and cognitive-linguistic disorders.
Occupational Therapy at Step By Step Centre specialises in the evaluation and treatment of children with sensory processing disorders, autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, ADHD, Down’s syndrome, sensory-motor deficits, and other developmental disorders.
Step by Step Centre also provides additional behaviour therapy services that are founded on evidence-based practices. A Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) provides evaluation and consultative services.
The school also does the Applied Behaviour Analysis, which is the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning therapy to improve socially significant behaviours to a meaningful degree.
The institute also has a Buddy Club. It is a social skills group for children from 3 to 18 years of age, and is 10-week programme addressing various social interaction, communication and behaviour challenges. Buddy Club groups comprise of 3-6 children with similar functional abilities. These groups meet once a week and work on the areas of needs (such as sharing, turn taking, inviting peers to play, being a good sport) as decided by the preliminary assessment sessions.