'Let education be their spine'.

Byline: Nuha Adlan

RIYADH: The Spina Bifida Saudi Support Group held a lecture for families and educators focusing on the education and rehabilitation of children with spina bifida, a debilitating condition where the spine doesn't grow properly during fetal development.

Musaad Al-Ola, a teacher of Ibn Al-Bitar School, said children with disabilities have equal right to proper education like their peers.

"Before talking about mainstreaming and getting our children in wheelchairs to a regular school with other students, parents need to go and check whether the school is suitably equipped," Al-Ola said in his presentation. "Several things should be taken into account: A parent's responsibilities include informing the school personnel of their child's condition and requirements. Orientation should take place before exposing the physically challenged student to the class."

Mainstreaming of children with spina bifida is becoming harder despite the efforts of the Ministry of Education to give children in wheelchairs the rights of having proper education in schools that are equipped to meet their needs.

"It is an obligation of all schools to make a suitable environment to a child with a physical impairment," Al-Ola said. "School personnel, teachers and even classmates should be fully aware of the situation of the child in order to help him through difficulties and to benefit from school like others."

Al-Ola and other speakers agreed that wheelchair-bound children with spina bifida struggle more than other students.

"The whole school should be aware of the medical condition of a child with spina bifida to protect him from physical and emotional harm," said Dr. Marwa Abdul Fattah, a disabled rights advocate from the Disabled Children's Association (DCA). "Parents usually develop fears and become unnecessarily overprotective to their children, so they feel that they should stay in a school for physically impaired and sometimes hinder children with spina bifida from living their lives as their normal peers."

Amal Al-Ammar, who is a DCA member, pointed out that many parents raise concerns about the safety of regular schools to their children.

"We monitor schools that provide spaces for children with disabilities and we do individual planning before sending kids to any school," Al-Ammar said.

The Spina Bifida Saudi Support Group, which was launched several months ago, aims to help families find solutions to their children's struggles.

Copyright: Arab News 2009 All rights reserved.

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