JEDDAH, 2 May — Khaled is an 11-year-old schoolboy who loves going to school, gets above average grades and enjoys extra-curricular school activities.

Just two years ago, things were very different.

Khaled’s father still gets emotional when he discusses how life used to be.

"My son was failing out of school, his attention span was almost non-existent, his behavior toward his peers was awful, he had no respect for anybody — not even for me or his mother," he recalled. "But one day, a friend spoke to me about learning disabilities, and provided me with some literature on the subject. Everything clicked: I knew my son was intelligent, I know he had it in him the will to succeed, but till then I didn’t know why he was encountering such difficulties."

Khaled and his father saw a specialist, who properly diagnosed him with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). He was given therapy and medication — a simple procedure that had a massive impact on the lives of every family member.

Stories like Khaled’s are proof that, if detected, learning disorders can be successfully treated.

In the West, children with learning disabilities have long since been treated and integrated into the mainstream education system. However, here in Saudi Arabia no research has yet been undertaken into the phenomenon, and the ignorance that surrounds the issue is such that it is only now beginning to be addressed.

Arab News visited the Maharat Center for Cognitive and Skills Development in Jeddah, a non-profit organization. It is the Kingdom’s leading center for diagnostic and remedial treatment for disabilities in learning, communication and perception. Run exclusively by Saudis, it was established in the mid-90s. Since then, hundreds of youngsters have benefited from its existence.

The center gives free lectures in schools in order to increase public awareness of the problem, give lectures at the center and we have a newsletter that details our activities and the latest news concerning learning disabilities.

Nadia Alireza, executive director of the center, said: "It’s very hard for a parent to come to terms with their child’s learning disabilities. Some are especially hesitant about accepting the medication required as part of the treatment. There have been cases where children improved right away; but it’s usually not an overnight thing, and requires a lot of patience."

Maharat learning disability specialist Raad Al-Hamdan explained that the medical side to the treatment is crucial, "and at the Maharat Center we get our clients in touch with the best specialist in the Kingdom to monitor the medication process, which should always be given under a doctor’s observation."

The problem is that the Mahrat Learning Center is like a voice crying in the wilderness.

In Saudi schools, as in any other, there are disruptive students behaving as 11-year-old Khaled used to; but there has so far been a failure on the part of the educational authorities to recognize that one reason might be that they are suffering from curable learning disabilities.

What is needed is greater awareness, both among the general public and Saudi educators — and that can only come through a combined public education campaign organized by the ministries of health and education.