JEDDAH — His mother noticed he had difficulty learning when he was young. She didn’t give up on him though and continued seeking help and counseling. It’s been 25 years and he is now studying at Georgetown University in Washington for his master’s degree and will be graduating in May this year.
Those who have learning disabilities are frequently labeled lazy, because they are inherently poor readers and listeners, impulsive, easily distracted and jump from one subject to another without connecting thought or reason. They are of normal to high intelligence and most frequently, having been referred to negatively in their academic and social endeavors, suffer from low self-esteem.
Seventeen years ago, a group of Saudi women, some undergoing personal experiences with their own children who suffered from learning disabilities, traveled abroad to countries where their children could receive the care, guidance and counseling needed.
These women decided to introduce the concept of learning difficulties in Saudi society. Not all people could afford the expenses of traveling to a foreign country when facing such problems. There were also two major obstacles that made it even harder for people to travel abroad to seek help: language and culture. It was about time the Kingdom learned how to support people with such children in nurturing them into becoming well adjusted and confident individuals.
In 1990, a group of young Saudi men and women went on scholarships to Georgetown University in the US to acquire master’s and doctorate degrees in special education. Their efforts were fruitful and this group of specialists became the heart of the Maharat Center for Cognitive and Skills Development that was established in 1994. It was Saudi Arabia’s first nonprofit organization established to deal with specific learning disabilities.
“Every child has the right to achieve his or her full potential in order to become a successful member of society,” said Hala E. Khogeer, Maharat’s public relations and marketing manager. She was there from the beginning and witnessed the center grow and flourish. After the center was established, the journey began with a campaign to create awareness in schools and universities to highlight specific learning disabilities and ways to deal with them. The campaigns targeted private and public schools and were done on a weekly basis in cooperation with the Education Ministry.
Mothers, especially those with children who have learning disabilities, were more responsive to the center’s efforts. Families with average educational backgrounds were also quick to react positively to Maharat’s approach. However, this was not the case with the well-educated, who simply refuse to deal with the fact that their children have disabilities or difficulties.
“The center emphasizes its role in raising public awareness of learning disabilities and all its related problems,” said Khogeer. “We strive to provide parents and teachers with the latest information and findings in the field. Our staff offers training to school teachers through lectures and workshops either in the center or in schools.”
The collaborative efforts of Maharat and the Education Ministry broke new grounds in training staff at the ministry’s special education section and in reaching out to schools. However, the process required patience and those concerned doubled efforts in approaching families and parents. “Parents see their children act normally so they refuse to listen,” said Khogeer. “Learning difficulties are not symptoms anyone can easily identify. That’s why assessment and diagnosis are the initial stages of our services in the center. All we need is for parents not to hesitate in paying us a visit or sharing their concerns.”
Elementary and high school students are the cadres of the future. Having learning difficulties might lead these students to give up their education. But when the appropriate skills are acquired to improve these children’s academic and nonacademic environments, they sharpen and enhance their natural skills and talents. The center addresses both the academic and social development of children and young adults. Academically, the center’s specialists assess, diagnose and remedy skills relating to reading, writing, mathematics, studying and logical thinking. There is also focus on the emotional factors that affect motivation, learning and well-being.
Mona A. Abdat, clinical services manager and assessment and educational therapy specialist, mentioned the story of an 11-year-old girl in the first elementary grade, whose father believed she was doomed to failure. He wanted her to abandon school, stay at home and await a suitable marriage partner. The mother came to Mona for consultation. Deep down she believed there was something wrong with her daughter and that she was better off sitting at home.
“We diagnosed and examined the girl here at the Maharat Center. We discovered that she had learning difficulties and had concentration problems,” said Mona. “She then went to the US for consultation and I happened to be in Washington so I accompanied them to a doctor. The parents wanted to assess the girl’s condition and whether she needed medical treatment or not.”
The girl started to improve after using medication and with the family’s better understanding of her situation. The Maharat Center also worked with her school to follow up on her, helping in boosting her self-esteem and teaching her academic skills. The girl graduated recently from university with a bachelor’s degree in English literature.
“Learning difficulties never end. It’s not a problem that can be solved,” said Mona. “We just try to find ways for children or young adults to adjust to their surroundings, schools, families, the supporting center regardless of whether it is the Maharat or another center.”
The Maharat Center provides services to children with special needs including an assessment of clients’ cognitive, perceptual and academic development; tutoring services, school readiness screening, consultation services, psychological services, occupational therapy services, enrichment programs and training programs for parents, teachers and professionals.