A Speech and Language Therapist is campaigning for the mandatory integration of special needs children into both public and private schools nationwide.
Juliet Senoo is advocating for the inclusion of special needs educators, speech and language therapists, and occupational therapists in all public and private preschools. She argues that this measure would facilitate the early detection and intervention for children with special needs.
According to Juliet Senoo, founder of the FirstWord and Speech Rehabilitation Center, incorporating these professionals into educational settings would ensure that children facing challenges in learning and communication receive the necessary support.
This, she believes, would enable them to access and benefit from the educational system on equal footing with their peers. Ultimately, Senoo asserts that with adequate support, children with special needs can thrive and excel in their educational journey, notwithstanding their obstacles.
Senoo points out instances where parents struggle to recognize signs of special needs in their children during early developmental stages due to lack of training. Often, it’s only upon consulting a specialist that they become aware of any issues.
“Where we have gotten to as a country it is important for the government to make efforts to infuse into both public and private schools speech & language therapists, occupational therapists and special needs educators to help children during the fundamental stages of their education. The major challenge has always been that, because there are no such professionals in our schools it becomes difficult for most teachers to identify such children early.
“No child is useless, the addition of these special needs professionals such as speech therapists, occupational therapists, and special educators would help that particular child to be up to the task (in his special ability) with typical children. We just want them to be more functional in society” the Speech Therapist told Citi News.
Speaking on the sidelines of the free health and developmental screening organised in commemoration of World Autism Awareness Day, Juliet Senoo re-emphasised the need to prioritise the education and training of children with special needs
During the exercise, the team focused on some key thematic areas ranging from speech, language, and communication development of children, physical development, with a special emphasis on sitting, walking, and, gross and fine motor development.
The cognitive and social skills development of the child were also taken into consideration as well as behaviour issues during the screening exercise.
Some parents who brought their children for screening expressed satisfaction with the exercise while emphasizing the need for the government to consider establishing a special needs school to take care of children with these conditions.
“It is important that the government establishes a special needs facility to take care of children with these needs. Each child is different and needs special treatment and I believe that once that school is set up it will help in the formation of the child.
“Government must also consider occasional training for private and public school teachers to give them a better insight on how to take care of children with special needs and possibly it must be inculcated into the curriculum “Patricia Boateng a parent told Citi News.