Last Saturday’s Sabbath service at the Seventh–day Adventist Church in Mount Fortune was different from the regular, as the church took prime time out of its normal routine to recognize the importance of Special Needs Education in our communities.
The motive, in part, was to create a certain awareness of the existence of the conditions that warrant Special Needs Education, as well as to sensitize the congregation on the need to respond to affected children with a degree of tolerance, respect and understanding.
The Sabbath’s program was highlighted by a panel discussion with guest panelists consisting of Special Needs Educators, parents of affected children, an affected young adult, and special needs activists, among others.
Moderator of the discussion was teacher and prominent church member, Tr. Melsadis Fleming, and the day’s program in general was chaired by Tr. Marcia Hodge, the church’s Praise Team Leader. Even the sermon of the day had a childlike influence, with its theme “Praise and Worship in the Midst of Children”, delivered by an admirable eight-year-old, Master Clayton Thomas.
Upon introducing the panel discussion, Tr. Melsadis (the moderator) explained: “The World Health Organization defines ‘disability’ as any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity within a range considered normal for a human being. In other words, ‘disability’ refers to a person’s inability or reduced ability to perform a particular function. A ‘disability’ is a functional limitation. There are a variety of special needs that many of our children in Anguilla deal with on a daily basis due to certain learning disabilities.”
The moderator then asked the Chief Education Officer, Mrs. Rhonda Connor, what facilities or programs exist to assist students with disabilities — and their parents. Mrs. Connor answered: “The Government of Anguilla places priority on ample provisions for affected students. We have a wide range of disabilities in our schools, and hence we have a wide range of provisions to assist affected students. The whole area of Special Needs Education is on a continuum and it ranges from mild to profound to complex.
“Thus, the provisions include a school health program where school nurses come to assess the health of each affected child. We provide an early reading intervention program in the form of remedial reading and recovery. Besides, we offer guidance counseling; we also provide education welfare officers; we have a psychologist as well; and we also provide a speech and language therapist. In addition, we offer a substance misuse/abuse counselor. We also provide a Pupil’s Referral Unit (PRU) as a correction center. Overall, we have Special Education Units which are manned by properly trained personnel to look out for the best interest of each affected child.”
The moderator, Teacher Melsadis, inquired of one of the teachers as to what are some of the challenges she faces with children affected by disabilities. She answered: “The major challenges that we face are from students who are autistic and those who have communication difficulties. We have to develop certain strategies in order to effectively communicate with them. Then, there are students who are also medically challenged. These students pose the more severe and profound challenges”
When Teacher Melsadis asked what were some of the rewards of the program that were being implemented, the teacher responded: “The rewards are varied and many. We have had children who came to the center not walking, and they are now able to walk; there were some who could not talk and who have begun to talk through the use of iPad visuals under our special needs care. They are some who used to depend largely on communicating through hand signs, but are now speaking in complete sentences. These are some of the noteworthy rewards.”
With the month of April being observed as Autism Month, Ms. Annishka White, Founder and President of the newly established Ispeak Autism Society, was present as a participant on the panel. She was asked what efforts were made by the Ispeak society — to assist affected children and parents — since its inception.
Ms. White responded: “In collaboration with the Department of Education, and the Department of Youth and Culture, we have conducted workshops for parents and the general public to create awareness to the condition and to pledge our parental support.
“We have had two sets of seminars. These were widely open to parents and teachers and focused mainly on educating parents about autism. From a society perspective, we feel that it is important for everyone to have an understanding of what autism really is. We are bringing autism in the open and we are breaking the stigma, because we feel some parents might be still in denial, so we are doing our best to educate and support them through Ispeak.”
Addressing one of the parents of an autistic child, the moderator, Teacher Melsadis, asked: “As a parent of a child affected by autism, would you describe what life is like for you and your family?” The parent answered: “My whole life has changed, and I have had to make a lot of adjustments. Everything we as a family do has to be done to accommodate my son. Since he is on the autism spectrum, everything from getting him ready for school, to feeding him, to going out, all has to be carefully tailored to meet his requirements.
“At times we have to decide whether or not we can take him certain places. We have to decide whether or not he would be able to cope. Perhaps the stimuli in the environment might be too much for him to handle. Sometimes we would get ready for church, for example, and when we arrive the environment might not be suitable for him, so knowing that he will behave in a rather frustrating way, we would have to cancel church til’ next time. So yes, the family’s schedule is for the most part built around him.”
Another parent of a six-year old autistic son stated: “Simple things like putting on his clothes, and having a conversation with friends and family members, pose a great challenge for my son. At a very young age we noticed that he would not engage in playing with his cousins. It was very difficult for me as a mother to realize that something was wrong.”
She explained that her son’s aunt bought him a bike and he was all excited about riding the new cycle. But because he does not have the dexterity to understand how the pedalling function works, he soon became frustrated and threw it down. She explained that due to his condition her son does not comprehend structure. So since learning is structural, it is difficult for him to grasp concepts. “These frustrations affect him,” she said, “and for me as a parent, I have to redirect him ever so often.”
ther questions asked, and answers given, proved to be quite informative and enlightening to the extent that many persons commented on their satisfaction with the service. They claimed that they were better able to grasp an understanding of the behavioral patterns of children who were affected by mental disorders, whether development delay (DD), autistic disorder (AD) or attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD).
Special features of the service included a saxophone rendition of “He Made a Way” by Randy Hodge who unfortunately became disabled by unnatural means as the victim of a drive-by shooting in 2012, when a bullet was lodged in his spine. In addition, teenage student and gifted musician, Linden Swayving Jr., immaculately featured a stunning performance on the keyboard, entitled “One Thousand Reasons”. Yet, another talented teen, in the person of Kelva Fleming, gave a magnificent rendition of a lip-synch recital to a recorded sermon entitled “The Call of the Church”.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s current mission entails taking special care of those children who require exceptional attention. As a “special needs sensitive church”, through this mission a distinctive website was developed to support the hearing impaired. The web address is: www.hopechanneldeaf.org.
