Must strengthen inclusive training
There is a need for a framework of policies to strengthen inclusive classrooms within the education ecosystem to provide equal access to education for students of all abilities and needs.
That is the firm conviction of Datin Seri Umayal Eswaran, Chairman of the Rythm Foundation and founder of the Taarana special school.
Speaking at the 2021 Special Education: Moving Beyond Boundaries (SEMB) virtual conference, she said schools need to have the right infrastructure to accommodate children with special needs.
“Teachers, through training and support, need to acquire the skills needed to help them understand and teach children with different special needs.
“With proper early identification by therapists, teachers and parents can better prepare appropriate instructional strategies for their students,” she said in a press release.
“Integrating career coaching and job placement programs into the school system will also help connect school leavers with special needs and learning disabilities to career opportunities,” she added.
Organized by Quest International University (QIU), the two-day conference, held on December 4th and 5th, attracted over 250 participants from around the world and saw a total of 38 keynote addresses, plenary lectures and workshop presentations conducted to best Discuss and share practices including education.
It is hoped that through the conference theme, Embracing Uniqueness, Empowering Lives, attendees, comprised of special education professionals, community specialists and parents, will be equipped with the latest knowledge and understanding of special education and empower them to support and care for their children with special needs support students.
The Organizational Chair of SEMB 2021 and Dean of the QIU Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Dr. Chan Nee Nee said the aim of the conference is to break down the boundaries between game changers in the field and frontliners such as educators, specialists and parents.
“This would equip them with the skills they need to support children and students with special needs,” she said.
QIU Bachelor of Special Needs Education (Honours) student Amanda Nathan described the conference as “impactful” and said it helped attendees see the potential solutions that could help special needs students worldwide.
“It was a pleasure to be part of SEMB 2021 as I managed to interact with many professionals and gain insights on topics that have been extremely useful to those in the special education field,” she said.
The speakers at the conference came from a wide range of backgrounds, including academics, teachers and special needs advocates from Asia, Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Among them were Prof. David Evans, Professor of Special and Inclusive Education at the University of Sydney; Toh Teck Hock, vice president of the National Early Childhood Intervention Council (NECIC), and pediatrician, and Dr.
Anthony Alexander Chong Vee Yee, the first deaf PhD student at Universiti Malaya to communicate using Malaysian Sign Language (BIM) instead of speech, also gave his presentation in sign language, assisted by an interpreter.
To access the conference recordings and documents, which will be available for three months, go to qiu.edu.my/semb/.
