DOHA: The country needs more specialised centres to accommodate and support children with special needs, according to an expert.
There is only Shafallah centre that provides comprehensive services and care for individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, and has a long waiting list, says Dr Ahmed Hassan Alhammadi, Consultant and Head of General Paediatrics Division and Associate Programme Director of Paediatrics at Hamad Medical Corporation.
About 3,000 students in Qatar are children with special needs, and 20 percent of them go to the centre. The number of members at Qatar Society for Rehabilitation of People with Special Needs was 4,400 in 2012.
But Dr Alhammadi, also head of Paediatric Complex Chronic Care Clinic, says, “There is a need for more specialised centres for children with special needs. Shafallah can admit only a limited number of kids.
“Shafallah has a long waiting list, sometimes an admission may take two years. We need more such centres, may be 10,” he added.
Shafallah serves as a model for special education and therapeutic and healthcare support services for children with disabilities from birth to adulthood.
The early intervention programme of HMC provides services and support for families who need extraordinary care for a child with special needs.
Also specialised clinics for such children provide them with more medical assistance.
However, after a certain age children with special needs should start learning and get training to help them lead a normal life.
They require services such as child development therapy for behavioural changes.
“Some children have mild problems, others have major complications, but all have a right to specialised care,” said Dr Alhammadi.
The Peninsula
