Creative Learning Center- The week

Creative Learning Center to Open its Doors Soon
September 2007

Creative Learning Centre LLC is gearing up to open its doors by the end of Ramadan. The centre will be offering after-school programmes, programmes for children with special needs and special tutorial programmes for weak children in school. The programmes will be month-to-month, studied either by levels or modules. Kawthar Al Hadhrami, managing director of the centre, says: “As of now, there few programmes for children with special needs here in Oman. These children are locked away in their houses with their parents and denied any form of education. What about the future of these children? What will happen to them once their parents die or are no longer able to take care of them? We must teach these children minimum needs to make them self-reliant.”

Al Hadhrami has a 14-year-old son of her own with special needs. “I have suffered with my son. When he was kicked out of a regular Omani school for being too “stupid” as the principal at the school he was attending so rudely put it, we went around from school to school trying to find him a place. Either they wouldn’t take him because he was a special needs case or Omani (for expat schools) or we just couldn’t afford it. One school we approached had fees of over RO7,000 per year! Which Omani family can afford those kinds of fees or even an expat family for that matter? Another school wanted to charge us an extra RO1,000 on top of the regular RO3,000 tuition fees because he was a special needs student. I felt as if the school was penalising us or punishing us for having a child with special needs. In the end, we ended up hiring a private teacher, with whom my son has adapted well. However, I do feel he needs social interaction with other children.”

Al Hadhrami comments that the situation for expats, especially those who are English-speaking or non-Arabic, is even worse. “These families have no place to turn because they don’t speak Arabic. The few resources that are available here in Oman are for Arab children. Those who are not Arabs are just sort of lost in the storm. Since these children had been going to schools or centres back home, when they see that there is nothing for them here, these children seem to take many step backward instead of moving ahead.”

Al Hadhrami states that children with mild to moderate Down Syndrome, Autism, Dyslexia and other conditions are able to learn and go on to college, earn degrees and be able to hold jobs and to rely on themselves. She states that unfortunately in Oman special needs children are not given this opportunity which is really sad. “It’s putting all the responsibility on the parents’ head, to support these children all their lifetime instead of making these children self-reliant and responsible, which those with mild to moderate needs are more than capable of doing,” she says. She also states that these children need the opportunity to learn and a place where they can also have social interaction with other children. “They need a place to learn, and play; a place where learning can be fun and enjoyed by them. I am hoping to make a difference in these young children’s lives,” she says.

Al Hadhrami says that at the centre, the children will be in classes according to their disabilities and level. There will be 12 students in each class, split into groups of four with a teacher in each group. She believes that small group instruction is very important on any child’s success, especially when talking about children with special needs. Small group instruction is the proper way and the only way for these children to learn. Speaking about the educational assistance programme at the centre, Al Hadhrami says that it is an innovative programme, which will assist children get enrolled in regular mainstream schools. “We aim to help all students, both in the government and private schools who are struggling to keep up with their peers.” She says that parents will have a choice on how to group their children. “They can have one-on-one instruction, four in a group, six in a group or a group of 10 or more. The larger group will not exceed 12 children though. All subjects will be covered and children will be grouped according to their grade levels and problem areas.” “

These days, teachers at schools do not want to do anything extra to help these children, especially if the child has a learning problem, a processing problem, is a slow learner or is with special needs. Therefore, I feel it is my job and duty to help these children as much as possible, so that they can succeed in school.” There will also be programmes for young adults (up to age 19) in English language, computer and other programmes, which will run on a month-to-month basis. “We are still thinking up programmes for these young adults to try,” states Al Hadhrami.

“These days, it is important for everyone to have a skill. While going to college or university is the best choice for all of these young adults, some may not qualify and it may not be an option for others. However, they need to learn a skill to find an employment.” For more information on Creative Learning Centre LLC, visit http://www.clc-om.com

Creative Learning Center-Oman tribune

October 31, 2007
Creative Learning Centre to open doors on Nov. 3

MUSCAT Creative Learning Centre will officially open its doors on Nov. 3 for parents and students to come and take a look around.The centre is located in Al-Khuwair and has lots to offer children with special needs. They have a large villa and will be using it for autistic children, Downs Syndrome and slow learners.

The centre offers a variety of activities. We have programmes for children with low IQs, Down’s Syndrome and Autistic children,” said Kawthar Al Hadhrami, managing director of Creative Learning Centre. “I am very enthusiastic about the opening. These children will finally have a chance to learn and grow.”When asked about the services that the centre would provide, Al Hadhrami said: “We will provide education and all educational therapies, such as speech, occupational, and physical. The curriculum we have is a US-based curriculum that is specifically made for special needs students. It is on a slower pace and the children will be able to grasp lessons. The Arabic curriculum is also designed the same way.”

She said that the children wouldn’t only learn through books. “The children must learn by doing and through play. This is a very important concept for these children. Hands-on activities are very important, because they use a multi-sensory approach, meaning they use more than one of their senses.”

She said the centre also had a section for young teens because it was difficult to start from the very beginning with them. “This is for the youth that have had no education. Because of their special needs they were unable to find a place at local schools,” she said. “We will teach them basic English (reading, writing and speaking) basic math skills and basic Arabic (reading and writing).”As far as classroom size goes, Al Hadhrami said the classes would be small and there would be only ten students per class with a teacher and an assistant teacher in each class to support and help them. “All these children will be successful and will go on to bigger and better things,” she added.

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CHARITY CALLS- THE WEEK

Charity calls
Nicola Shipway, June 25, 2008
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Sami suffers from mirror dyslexia and a depressive condition called bipolar disorder. Before he joined the Creative Learning Center last autumn, Sami had nowhere to go, having been expelled from school after school. But a year at the centre has worked wonders. Today, Sami, aged 14, is able to multiply and read books for fifth graders (a year ago he could hardly read or write). Another pupil, Hamid, who is autistic, has also come on leaps and bounds, and is now able to sit still for ten or 15 minutes where once he couldn’t manage longer than two seconds.

The Creative Learning Center has improved the quality of these boys’ lives; suddenly their future looks better than before, though it might not remain so - if the centre fails to find funds, it may be forced to close.Education in place of prejudice “The thing is that there is no place for these children if we have to close,” says Kawthar al Hadhrami, chief executive manager of the centre, which provides special education for children with special needs. “We need someone to step up and say, we’ll pay the fees for these many children. We were hoping to be able to rely on donations. We are asking for them now.” Since the centre opened last year, donations and volunteers have been elusive, which possibly reflects society’s tendency to discriminate against children with special needs. During her association with the centre, Kawthar has encountered vehement prejudice. “I’ve had people ring and make, ‘These children are better off dead’ kinds of comments.”

The centre and what it does: The Creative Learning Center teaches children aged 3 to 21 with Down’s syndrome, autism and other learning difficulties. The first such privately owned centre in the sultanate, it opened on November 10, 2007, and has since provided a service that is unavailable elsewhere. To date this admirable venture has encountered just one problem - a lack of funds. Without an injection of cash it may soon have to close, thereby shutting out children who have nowhere else to go. Kawthar’s motivation to set up the centre came in part from her own son, who has special needs. “There was nothing here for him,” she said, nor for other children like him - many of the pupils now enrolled were formerly restricted to staying at home. The centre allows them to interact with other people.Teaching varies according to the needs of each child; young autistic children for instance need to be taught basic skills (how to eat and sit still and so on); whereas other pupils might be taught to read and write. Some may be eligible to study for a high school diploma - the Creative Learning Center is affiliated to an umbrella institution high school in the US. Kawthar says that she currently has four pupils aged 20 whom she intends to enrol in the autumn on a high school vocational course. It is important that these men learn to work, she points out, because children cannot depend on their parents once the older generation dies.

The centre is also valuable in that it offers parents a form of release.According to Kawthar, parents of children with special needs are often worn out and suffering from sleep deprivation - the centre effectively gives them a break.“One Pakistani man brought his child to us and he was crying,” she recalls. His distress was perhaps in part an expression of relief; with a monthly salary of RO120, he is unable to afford the educational fees, but the centre asks him only for half his child’s bus fare. The problem: fees, wages, volunteers and rent This man’s case is not unique - Kawthar says that last year she had ten children who were not paying and some paid half fees. Herein lies the rub. The Creative Learning Center needs funds to continue to be able to subsidise children whose parents are unable to pay. Kawthar needs volunteers as well, to bolster her 20 members of staff. Last academic year she had 44 pupils, and at least another 40 are already on the list for next term, which starts on September 13. “Before this I owned a primary school in Al Hail and we never had a problem getting volunteers there. But a school like this, which finds it harder, thrives and depends on volunteers.”

The centre’s financial situation is dire: one of its three partners took out a loan on his house in order to fund it, and they have now missed two loan repayments. Rent on the villa in which the centre is housed is also pending (it must be paid six months in advance) and the landlord is threatening eviction.“

It’s funny because the mosque in my hometown now wants to do a fundraiser event to help the centre,” says American-born Kawthar, who has lived in Oman for 18 years. “I can get people in the US to organise something to help, but I cannot get people in Oman to help this centre or these children.”To donate to the Creative Learning Center, call 96635730 or 95307344, or email information@clc-oman.com