Special Education: A Challenge for DR
Santo Domingo
His legs make it impossible to play and move like the other children neither does he have the instrument that would allow him to climb the stairs any easier in the school or move from one place to another.
Brian de Jesus attends the third grade in school in the Dominican Republic and at his age of thirteen says when he grows up he wants to be a truck driver like his grandfather. The child with motor disabilities, a distressed low voice says he gets along with peers and they do not make fun of his condition.
To the psychologist Patricia Esteva, children with disabilities need extra help and support at the time they integrate and socialize with other children."At first they might not know how to integrate, so they need the provision of teachers, to give guidance to classmates so they know how to treat and understand it is a special child," she said.
For her part, the educational psychologist Dorka Jaquez said it is advisable to work with the self-esteem of children with disabilities, and make them feel useful to society as entities.
Also considered important to work with the family for their motivation.
The center's director of integrated education "Pasitos" Deida Perez, said the special children should be integrated through a process, hoping they can familiarize themselves with peers and teachers.
"We treat first the child in the first months to integrated, become familiar with staff, peers and the material of work," referring to the center where there are 60 children enrolled, of which 20 have some disabilities.
Recommended to regular schools to include a special child for a trial period, observe the child, their likes, their inconvenience, and thereafter prepare the program that will work. "We recommend that they try at least one month under observation," she said.
Considered the most important thing is not only that the child learns to read and write, but to be happy, be integrated, feel useful, and not treated it as a "little thing". she explained that not all children reach the academic grade in their age level might be. Cited cases of such children at the center between the ages of 14 and 15 years, working with pre-primary level, but ensures that children are happy because they can fend for themselves.
Few teachers
Currently there are not special education or master degrees of the field in the pensums of any university in the country, causing a void of teachers trained to work with these children in regular education centers.
As for private special education centers, public and semi-private, the directors have had to resort to training seminar, many at times run by foreigners.
Deida Perez believes that children with disabilities require special care and a staff trained and prepared."In Pasitos we have given the task of bringing staff from Spain to train teachers," she said.
In the case of this private school it has 12 teachers, most of them psychologists, because according to de Perez is important to work with a professional psychologist with these children. However, in mainstream schools and other centers for abused children not all teachers are specialized in this type of education.
Ernestina Grullon, director of special education at school San Lorenzo de Los Mina, said that the country no longer teaches remedial courses and much fewer runs educational workshops or special education.
The educator specializing in this type of education degree from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a (UNPHU), which ceased to be taught for several years, said she conducts workshops and lectures for the 26 teachers who work in the center.
Described as unfortunate the fact that so few teachers have prepared on this subject, which she attributed not only to the reluctance of education authorities, but also to universities and the teachers themselves, because they think that no student would demand for that career Nor will the university make the space.
The Ministry of Education is working to include subjects of attention to diversity in the career of Education, said Minerva Perez Jimenez, director of special education and attention to the diversity of the Ministry of Education.
"We are working to retrain new time for teachers to be more prepared," she said.
For her part, Maria Teresa Cabrera, former president of the Dominican Teachers Association (ADP), said authorities do not consider children with disabilities as subjects of law, which makes her view that the coverage then is small and causes that the demand of staff is low and can't advocate for universities to those races.
The Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) will include special education degreesfrom 2013, while the UNPHU is to begin in September this year. The University Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a and UNICARIBE offered the career for years but up to now none of the houses of the studies consulted to latest date taught them any longer.
In 2002 Census 24% of people with disabilities in the Dominican Republic have physical disabilities, 20% are of sensory type.
Santo Domingo
His legs make it impossible to play and move like the other children neither does he have the instrument that would allow him to climb the stairs any easier in the school or move from one place to another.
Brian de Jesus attends the third grade in school in the Dominican Republic and at his age of thirteen says when he grows up he wants to be a truck driver like his grandfather. The child with motor disabilities, a distressed low voice says he gets along with peers and they do not make fun of his condition.
To the psychologist Patricia Esteva, children with disabilities need extra help and support at the time they integrate and socialize with other children."At first they might not know how to integrate, so they need the provision of teachers, to give guidance to classmates so they know how to treat and understand it is a special child," she said.
For her part, the educational psychologist Dorka Jaquez said it is advisable to work with the self-esteem of children with disabilities, and make them feel useful to society as entities.
Also considered important to work with the family for their motivation.
The center's director of integrated education "Pasitos" Deida Perez, said the special children should be integrated through a process, hoping they can familiarize themselves with peers and teachers.
"We treat first the child in the first months to integrated, become familiar with staff, peers and the material of work," referring to the center where there are 60 children enrolled, of which 20 have some disabilities.
Recommended to regular schools to include a special child for a trial period, observe the child, their likes, their inconvenience, and thereafter prepare the program that will work. "We recommend that they try at least one month under observation," she said.
Considered the most important thing is not only that the child learns to read and write, but to be happy, be integrated, feel useful, and not treated it as a "little thing". she explained that not all children reach the academic grade in their age level might be. Cited cases of such children at the center between the ages of 14 and 15 years, working with pre-primary level, but ensures that children are happy because they can fend for themselves.
Few teachers
Currently there are not special education or master degrees of the field in the pensums of any university in the country, causing a void of teachers trained to work with these children in regular education centers.
As for private special education centers, public and semi-private, the directors have had to resort to training seminar, many at times run by foreigners.
Deida Perez believes that children with disabilities require special care and a staff trained and prepared."In Pasitos we have given the task of bringing staff from Spain to train teachers," she said.
In the case of this private school it has 12 teachers, most of them psychologists, because according to de Perez is important to work with a professional psychologist with these children. However, in mainstream schools and other centers for abused children not all teachers are specialized in this type of education.
Ernestina Grullon, director of special education at school San Lorenzo de Los Mina, said that the country no longer teaches remedial courses and much fewer runs educational workshops or special education.
The educator specializing in this type of education degree from the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a (UNPHU), which ceased to be taught for several years, said she conducts workshops and lectures for the 26 teachers who work in the center.
Described as unfortunate the fact that so few teachers have prepared on this subject, which she attributed not only to the reluctance of education authorities, but also to universities and the teachers themselves, because they think that no student would demand for that career Nor will the university make the space.
The Ministry of Education is working to include subjects of attention to diversity in the career of Education, said Minerva Perez Jimenez, director of special education and attention to the diversity of the Ministry of Education.
"We are working to retrain new time for teachers to be more prepared," she said.
For her part, Maria Teresa Cabrera, former president of the Dominican Teachers Association (ADP), said authorities do not consider children with disabilities as subjects of law, which makes her view that the coverage then is small and causes that the demand of staff is low and can't advocate for universities to those races.
The Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) will include special education degreesfrom 2013, while the UNPHU is to begin in September this year. The University Pedro Henr?quez Ure?a and UNICARIBE offered the career for years but up to now none of the houses of the studies consulted to latest date taught them any longer.
In 2002 Census 24% of people with disabilities in the Dominican Republic have physical disabilities, 20% are of sensory type.
