Fatimah launches the Children’s Day celebration.
KUCHING: The Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development will be introducing a One-Stop Early Intervention Centre (OSEIC) for children with special needs.
Its minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the centre will provide diagnosis, rehabilitation and intervention for the children aged 7 and below.
“Early diagnosis is important as we want to provide parents with a facility to diagnose if their children suffer from any disabilities. If confirmed, the required intervention will be given to the children,” she said when officiating at a National Children’s Day at Rumah Kanak-Kanak Toh Puan Norkiah here yesterday.
It is learnt that OSEIC which will be managed by Society for Parents of Children with Special Needs (Pibakat) will be launched by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg Oct 30.
For a start, Fatimah said focus will be given to children with autism, Down’s syndrome and those with learning difficulties.
From OSEIC, she said, these children will be integrated into mainstream schools as they will learn better and faster with normal children.
“Those who still need to be rehabilitated will be sent to a primary school for special needs children,” she added.
Abang Johari announced in March that the state will have its own special primary school for special needs children modelled after a special needs school in Australia and funded by the state government.
On the state-level Children’s Day celebration, Fatimah said the theme ‘Children’s Wellbeing is a Priority for All’ resonated with the federal-level ‘Sustainable Earth: Protecting Children’ theme which includes providing of basic needs, education, safety and conducive environment for children’s healthy growth.