Dubai parents fight for special needs education

Parents of children with special needs claim schools are not willing to make even small changes to help accommodate special needs children, and the authorities are also not much help. Neha Sharma, mother of a 12-year-old girl with mild cerebral palsy, says she has had to run from pillar to post to get her child educated. “ Even schools such as Wellington International, which is rated as outstanding by the KHDA, refused her admission on the grounds that she is two years behind her peers ” Neha Sharma "My daughter suffers from mild cerebral palsy, until the primary stage she had no problem, she was admitted to DPS Sharjah. She was getting language exemptions initially, but there was a change of rule around and then she was expected to learn Arabic as well as Hindi, which she couldn't do and the school kept on failing her," said Sharma. From then Sharma knocked on several doors only to be denied admission. "Even schools such as Wellington International, which is rated as outstanding by the KHDA, refused her admission on the grounds that she is two years behind her peers." However, she got admitted to Elite English School and she is doing well, but the problem is they are only willing to keep her until a certain age. Sharma said she wrote to the KHDA in their survey, but they never got back to her. Sharma is pursuing a masters in special education to help her daughter and other special needs children.