UAE- PHASE to host symposium on special education

DUBAI, 3rd September, 2016 (WAM) -- Under the patronage of HRH Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Princess Haya Award for Special Education (PHASE) will host a symposium under the slogan, "Breaking Boundaries, Creating Excellence," to present and discuss the latest research and practices in the field of special education.

The Symposium will take place on 29th September followed by three workshops on 30th September at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Academic Medical Centre in the Dubai Healthcare City.

Eight renowned international speakers from leading institutes and organisations will be sharing their experiences and the latest proven effective intervention programmes.

The Symposium is accredited with 11.75 Continual Professional Development (CPD) hours. First day programme will have 5.75 CPD hours, whereas the second day will have 6 CPD hours. Each workshop will be accredited with 2 CPD hours. The accreditation is recognised by the Ministry of Health, the Dubai Health Authority and the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi.

On the first day, Dr. Ammar Albanna, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at Al Jalila Children's Specialty Hospital, will present evidence-based treatments and future directions of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The presentation will offer a summarized evidence-based review of treatments for children with autism. Besides, it will provide a summary of future treatment directions for children with autism.

Dr. Andrew Smith, Honorary Professor in the International Centre for Evidence on Disability (ICED) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, will present an overview of the magnitude and consequences of hearing loss in underprivileged parts of the world, and key actions needed to address it.

Dr. Susan Ellen, Professor of Paediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, founder and Director of the Regional Autism Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, will discuss challenges in education for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Theresa Hamlin, Associate Executive Director at the Center for Discovery in New York, will share in her presentation a research about the most prevalent developmental disabilities and the co-occurring conditions associated with many of these disabilities.

Under the title, "World-Wide Hearing – a new approach to hearing for all," Andrew de Carpentier, Chairman of Worldwide Hearing Care for Developing Countries and Deserving Communities, will discuss the issues of the enormous gap in the global provision of services for millions of hearing impaired children and adults. The presentation will be based on the World Health Organisation's (WHO) estimation that there are approximately 750 million hearing impaired people in the world. Some 75 million are deaf (little use for hearing aids), but 80 million children have a hearing loss that can be amplified and utilized. However, living in Low and Middle Income Countries, most lack access since only 1 out of 40 children have access to hearing aid there.

Dr. Nicole Kinney, Chief of Clinical Services at the Center for Discovery in New York, will speak about the current brain research carried out at the centre that indicates the importance of physical exercise in promoting brain function for individuals with multiple disabilities, especially in the areas of attention, organization and planning.

Dr. Patricia Castellanos, Founder of "Smiles that Listen" Foundation, will address all the risks and implications of receiving cochlear implants in Low & Middle Income Countries.

Dr. Dorothy Novogrodsky, Behaviour Specialist at the Regional Special Education Technical Assistance and Support Centre in New York, will speak about working with children with physical challenges who have vision problems and how vision development can be interrupted, causing visual impairments.

The symposium will feature a presentation of a success story by Karl Schmidt, President at Board Bauerfeind Adriatic - MENA Region. Shmidt is a person with disability, who is an inspiration to many persons with disabilities. In his presentation, he will describe his accident, how his life changed, and how he began his life again.

Next day, participants will be able to join one of the three workshops presented by the symposium's speakers. The workshops will discuss different topics about planning for behavioural challenges, strategies for supporting children with autism in the learning environment, and managing hearing impairment.

Dr. Muna Al Saffar, Coordinator-General of Princess Haya Award, said, "Our ultimate goal is to empower individuals and their families, helping individuals with special needs to reach their full potential, encouraging better access to services, in addition to giving better opportunities to develop the educators and working professionals to be more confident in supporting their needs."

Mohammed Al Emadi, Head of Executive Committee, emphasised the importance of consistent training and pointed out that the symposium would be a unique opportunity for specialists in the Arab world to build bridges and network with international institutions and experts.

Launched in November 2008, the Princess Haya Award for Special Education (PHASE) is the first initiative of its kind in the region. It targets the role models in the special needs sector through various categories, according to high international standards. The initiative also aims to encourage people working in the special needs field to excel and set higher service standards in all fields of special education.