Early Intervention Service

Early Intervention
Service

H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President of the UAE

Introduction
Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care recognizes the importance of a
child’s early years as a period of rapid growth and development. For children with
disabilities, this time period is particularly critical. Therefore, Zayed Higher Organization
for Humanitarian Care has given special attention to offer early intervention services for
children with special needs with all types and levels of disabilities.
These early intervention educational and therapeutic services enhance a child’s ability to
benefit from future educational services provided within the school-age programs. Since
no early intervention services existed in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, it was imperative for
the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care to develop this service.
Early intervention services are delivered at two Early Intervention centers: one in Abu
Dhabi Center for Care and Rehabilitation / Mafraq and one at Al-Ain Center for Care
and Rehabilitation / Falaj Hazzaa.
www.zho.ae
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The Early Intervention Unit provides its specialized services to
children with special needs from 8:00 am until 3:00 pm from
Sunday to Thursday, except public holidays in the country. As a
part of its social mission to support the broader community, ZHO
also provides its early intervention services to some non-citizens
from the community.
Individuals with special needs and legal legislations in the
United Arab Emirates
The following national laws provide the legal foundation for Early Intervention Services
here in the UAE:
Article 2 of Federal Law No. 29 of 2006 addresses the rights of individuals with special
needs and ensures the rights of the person with special needs to have access to all
services based on their abilities and potential. In addition, the law assures that having
a disability may not be a reason to prevent the person from having the same rights as
all citizens to access health care and social services and to participate in economic,
educational, professional, cultural and recreational activities. Item D of Article 9 of the
same law, states that the families of students with special needs will be trained in ways
and methods of caring for, teaching and supporting their children.
Item B of Article 11 refers to the development of programs for early diagnosis, intervention,
community awareness, health education and the methods of early intervention and
specialization in the field of special needs. Article 14 of the same law, emphasizes the
importance of providing the academic disciplines for the purpose of preparing those
who work with people with special needs and their families in the area of ​diagnosis and
early intervention.
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Research Supporting Early Intervention Services
Objectives of The Early Intervention Service
Early Intervention refers to the actions and practices aimed at addressing the various
challenges presented by children with special needs. Families have a special focus in
Early Intervention programs and receive support and assistance to meet their child’s
needs within the home. Over 50 years of research, both quantitative and qualitative
supports the impact of Early Intervention programs on both the children and their
families being served.
The Early intervention Program is considered as an educational, therapeutic service
system, provided for young children who have special educational and developmental
needs from birth until the age of six years, and those who are at risk of disability for
many reasons. The Early Intervention Program is delivered in both the home which is the
familiar environment of the child and at the Early Intervention Center where specialized
equipment is available. The objectives of the program include:
• Early Intervention services lead directly to improvements in the development of
communication, motor, social and cognitive skills as measured by standardized
assessments and developmental scales.
• Families report improvements in the quality of life for all family members as they learn
how to care for their child with a disability. They report less personal stress and a more
positive attitude about the future for their children.
• Early Intervention often results in children needing fewer services later in life.
• Children receiving Early Intervention are more likely to transition directly to mainstream
schools and avoid special education programs altogether.
• Early Intervention is cost effective as the amount needed for future services is reduced.
• Parents can be effective teachers for their children with special needs when given the
necessary knowledge, resources, and support.
• Highly structured programs are likely to be more effective; that is, those with specific
goals for the child’s program, ongoing assessment of progress, the intensity and
frequency of services, and have a strong family component.
• To achieve direct involvement of parents in the process of teaching their child.
• To provide the parents with the continuous training so that they acquire the necessary
knowledge to understand their child’s disability and appropriate interventions.
• To provide the child with access to recommended therapy interventions and instruction
provided by occupational, physical, and speech therapists.
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Services provided at the Early Intervention Unit
The Early Intervention Program offers a range of specialized services for
children with special needs:
First: Portage Program Service
The Portage Program is a developmental guide for families that includes specific
activities which caregivers can use with their children to teach selected skills. Usually,
the program holds training sessions once or more during the week, where the Portage
specialist models the educational activities in the presence of parents.
The Portage program contains a total of 450 methodological cards, covering the sensory
skills, daily life skills, language development, physical and cognitive development in the
first six years of age.
Second: Pre-Academic and Entry Skills
The Early Intervention teacher will identify the entry or baseline skills so that she
can set the educational objectives in a sequential order. Skills include such things as
knowing how to count to 5, making associations between items (a toothbrush goes with
toothpastes) or knowing basic concepts like “big and little”.
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Third: Professional Coordination with Diagnostic and
Assessment Unit
The Diagnostic and Assessment Unit provides the initial evaluation of the child including
the collection of medical or educational documents. This initial evaluation is a requirement
before placement can be made into the early intervention unit. The diagnostic unit
provides initial assessment for motor, communication, cognitive, and social development
as well as screening for visual or auditory levels.
Fourth: Professional Coordination with Therapy Section to
Receive Speech, Physical and Occupational Therapy
The Early Intervention Unit coordinates with the Therapy Department in the Center,
related to the provision of speech, physical and occupational therapy services according
to the child’s identified needs.
Physical Therapy is designed to develop gross motor skills of children, such as sitting,
standing and walking. Sometimes, the use of specialized equipment or a corrective
device is needed to meet the child’s needs; such as, the use of a wheelchair.
Occupational Therapy is designed to help students with their fine motor skills (e.g. ability
to write) and with their ability to complete daily tasks like eating, using the toilet, or
dressing.
Speech Therapy is provided to children who are having difficulty developing speech
or communication skills. Therapy may focus on the production of speech, the ability to
produce language/sentences or the use of alternative communication systems.
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Fifth: Family Counseling Service
Recognizing that the child’s disability not only influences the child, but affects all
members of his family on varying degrees, the Early Intervention Program provides
family counseling services. This service helps family members to understand the meaning
of disability for their child, its potential effects on the life of the child as well as give them
strategies to help them cope with the problems and pressures of raising a child with a
disability. An important outcome of this service is to achieve family stability.
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Contact Details
أرقام التواصل
Name of the Center هاتف Tel
فاكس Fax اسم المركز +971 2 6985555
+971 2 6985610
The Special Needs Sector
+971 2 6985614
+971 2 6985750
Abu Dhabi Center for Care and Rehabilitaion
+971 2 6985751
+971 2 6985780
Abu Dhabi Center for Autism
+971 2 6985782
+971 2 6985480
+971 3 6985900
Al Ain Center for Care and Rehabilitation
+971 3 6985901
971+ 2 4472062
قطاع ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة - المكتب الرئيسي 971+ 2 5822366
مركز ابو ظبي لرعاية وتأهيل ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة 971+ 2 5822068
مركز ابو ظبي للتوحد 971+ 3 7820086
مركز العين لرعاية وتأهيل ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة مركز القوع لرعاية وتأهيل ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة +971 3 7356995 7356342 +971 3 Rehabilitation Al Qooa Center for Care and
Madinat Zayed Center for Care and Rehabilitation
+971 2 6985822
+971 2 6985828
Ghayathi Center for Care and Rehabilitation
+971 2 6985880
+971 2 8741415
Al Sela Center for Care and Rehabilitation
+971 2 6985700
+971 2 6985724
+971 2 6985800
Delma Center for Care and Rehabilitation
+971 2 6985801
+971 2 8783099
Blind Printing Press
+971 2 6985677
+971 2 6985688
Zayed Agricultural Center for Rehabilitaiona and Development
+971 2 6985771
+971 2 6985776
971+ 2 8847473
مركز مدينة زايد لرعاية وتأهيل ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة 971+ 2 8741268
مركز غياثي لرعاية وتأهيل ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة 971+ 2 8724014
مركز السلع لرعاية وتأهيل ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة 971+ 2 8783077
مركز دلما لرعاية وتأهيل ذوي االحتياجات الخاصة مطبعة المكفوفين +971 2 4472061
مركز زايد الزراعي للتأهيل والتنمية 971+ 2 5835358
Needs Abu Dhabi Sport Club for Special
5582884 +971 2 +971 2 5583288 نادي ابو ظبي لذوي االحتياجات الخاصة Needs Al Ain sport Club for Special
7820990 +971 3 +971 3 7810770 نادي العين للمعاقين 16
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