Dysnomia learning disability children in afghanistan

In this article Nasir describes how the Enabled Children Initiative ECI set up a school for children with disabilities in Afghanistan that aims eventually to include them in mainstream settings by working with other schools to develop inclusive learning environments. A new school Afghanistan has one of the largest disabled populations globally: As such, many children have never been to school, and are subject to bullying and discrimination.

Mainstream schools routinely reject children with disabilities and have no experience of inclusive learning programmes or inclusively trained teachers. Therefore, putting children needing additional support straight into these classrooms could set them up for failure, or worse, abuse and discrimination. In September , I joined ECI a non-profit organisation in Afghanistan to start a special school as a first step towards developing a more inclusive education system.

We also partner with mainstream schools to co-develop inclusive classrooms so that we can safely transfer our students into mainstream education. A change in regime Nine months after we opened in December , the Afghan government collapsed and we made the difficult decision to close the school.

That the severity of their disability and the level of the learning difficulty students have plays a key role whether they will disclose their difficulties.

We lost hope in the future. It was difficult to accept the possibility of losing the school. Parents cried when I called to share the news as this was the only school that would enrol their children. But it did not take long to re-open. The children were eager to return and parents repeatedly asked when this would be possible. Staff who were still in the country wanted to return to work, even though we have to work even harder now.

We operate under new restrictions and logistical considerations. For example, we must segregate students and staff by gender, organise transportation for female staff and students, and prioritise the safety and personal security of students and staff.