Emirates Airline Supports Autism

<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Emirates Airline involves in healing<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a> reports that with World Autism Awareness Day approaching&comma; the Emirates Airline Foundation has put the spotlight on the hurdles that children with autism faced in the last year&comma; and the important role that special educational institutions play in ensuring these children fulfill their potential by providing them with access to the programmes and resources they needed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Safe Centre for Autism opened its new facility for children’s special education needs in 2019&comma; only to shut its doors to support the UAE government’s efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19&period; The 2020 school closures presented unique challenges for many children and young adults&comma; but it was particularly disruptive to children on the autism spectrum who thrive on routine and stability&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;During the pandemic&comma; Safe Centre team was on hand to support parents&comma; providing online instruction to children where possible and guiding parents with practical&comma; safe strategies and activities to help meet the sensory and motor needs of their children while at home&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>When it was time to come back to Safe Centre&comma; the team helped transition the children to return to their educational settings successfully with a special two month programme&period; The programme included dividing students into different groups&comma; focusing on one to one activities&comma; as well as directly teaching&comma; modelling and practicing routines and behaviours to alleviate student anxiety as they returned to their educational settings&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&period; The school is currently supporting 52 students on the autism spectrum&comma; facilitating classes and sessions for four students per classroom in accordance with Covid-19 precautionary measures&period; All safety measures and hygiene standards continue to be adhered to in the classrooms and across the Safe Centre facilities&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Support of the newly built Safe Centre facilities is part of Emirates Airline Foundation’s positive work that supports communities in providing children with opportunities to realise their full potential&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Emirates Airline Foundation has been supporting Safe Centre since 2012&comma; and more recently helped fund its new 20&comma;000 square foot state-of-the-art facilities to accommodate and support more than <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">100 children<&sol;a>&period; Safe Centre moved into its new facility in January 2019&comma; after construction was completed on the new building&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The Safe Centre facilities include 12 classrooms&comma; which are all connected to their own private&comma; small play areas and restrooms so teaching staff can easily observe students practicing daily hygiene activities&period; In addition&comma; all classrooms are equipped with their own smart boards&comma; telecommunications tools and a number of other resources that are readily available to be used at any time&period; There are also three speech and <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;punchng&period;com&sol;">occupational therapy rooms&comma; equipment rooms<&sol;a>&comma; designated sensory areas&comma; a library&comma; dining rooms&comma; indoor and outdoor play areas&comma; a swimming pool&comma; music and art facilities&comma; a vocational room&comma; as well as a conference room&comma; clinic and nurse station&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Safe Centre has also been working with the Ministry of Community Development to add two new services&comma; which include vocational training and teaching of life skills to enable those with autism to productively enter the workforce&period; Safe Centre is also providing one to one sessions to provide speech and occupational therapy&comma; which are both essential for students with autism&period; Safe Centre also has a resident Board Certified Behaviour Analyst who supervises and actively manages the children’s progress to ensure that they are achieving their goals&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The Safe Centre is currently utilising the VB-MAPP curriculum&comma; which is designed specifically for children with autism&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Established in 2010&comma; the Safe Centre for Autism is a not-for-profit&comma; special education centre that caters for students who struggle with behavioural or developmental difficulties&comma; Autism &comma; speech and language delays&comma; and sensory deficits&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;