More Attention for Special Education

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Education

Saturday, 03 December 2011 02:30

By Alex Holder

Antigua St John's - Doristeen Etionoff is the chair of the newly appointed five-member team that forms the Special Education Council that promises to ensure that more attention and resources be channeled toward children with special needs. Parents of special needs children are watching closely as the Council develops.

The other members who will advise on the way forward as it relates to Special Education in Schools include Jackie Butler, Desiree Antonio, Dotsie Isaac-Gellizeau, and Maisie Southwell. The life of the board runs from October 2011 to March 2013.

Parents of children with special needs have lauded the move, but keeping their eyes open. One such parent is Salma Crump, the PRO for the Mount St John’s Medical Center.

She told Caribarena.com that in her view, the move represents “a good thing” and also a “new” thing to Antigua and Barbuda that would undoubtedly require some fine-tuning.

She suggested that even though some shell plans have been outlined, the public should exercise patience and allow the new council to get sorted out and decide on a proper way forward in terms of policy and programmes.

The policy aspect of their function is one that Crump said holds her interest most of all. “The way I see it personally is more of an advisory role to the minister and ministry. We are still waiting to hear more in terms of what are some of the plans in terms of moving forward with special education on the island,” she said.

She questioned too what the potential or intended reach of the Council when it does indeed get in full throttle.

In the meantime, the official instillation of the five Council members took place in early November in the presence of several officials.

Education Minister Dr Jacqui Quinn-Leandro said the process represents yet another step in the direction of special education in Antigua and Barbuda and adds to the existing efforts already being made to this aspect of the education system.

Although the initiatives so far are notable, the education minister acknowledged that more needs to be done.

She said one of the first undertakings of the Council would see the opening of the National Special Education Diagnostic Center, which will be housed in a building on Nugent Avenue. For this, the Board of Education has recently completed an estimate of the cost of converting the eyed building into a functional child-friendly centre. And have since included this expenditure into the 2012 Budget.

“I want to say that this is a very important initiative which we are committed to and we plead with the Ministry of Finance to support our efforts as this is one of the critical areas that will contribute to a larger slice of the national Budget for this Ministry.”


Among the Council’s function will be to analyze the needs and assess the resources of Special Education and in essence allow for government to gauge where it is and opposed to where it needs to go and chart the way forward in the most practical sense.

“All of our ducks have to be in a row when dealing with students and particularly when dealing with special needs students who, many by nature are already at a disadvantage. Teachers and teachers’ aides and staff who will come into everyday contact with these students have to be properly trained for what can be an extremely challenging and difficult undertaking. Many are called but few are chosen and that is how I feel about Special Education teachers,” the minister said.

She said her ministry hopes to help special needs children maximize their potential and become well-adjusted, contributing world citizens, through the launch of its Special Education Council.

Further, Minister Quinn-Leandro said the location for the centre is ideal for the intended purpose, being quiet and privately located between the Antigua Grammar School and the NTTC. She said the land is spacious and has the potential for expansion.

“We are inviting private partners to join us on this important venture because we want this to be a first class operation,” the Minister said.

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Also, the minister announced that an Antiguan in Canada; Dr. Lllewellyn Joseph, a Psychiatrist and Special Needs Specialist in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Southlake Regional Health Centre, has offered to come to the island in the first quarter of 2012 to offer additional training to Special Needs teachers.

She has acknowledged that the Adele school is overcrowded, having students who could be in mainstream classrooms had they been properly diagnosed.

“This is a big undertaking that will require great time, effort and participation by all stakeholders in education and we are under no illusion that it can happen overnight.”

In the meantime, the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has discussed the issue of Special Education and has approved the names of the Special Education Council.

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