Raising a child with a disability, specifically a learning disability, is difficult but when that child has multiple disabilities, educating them can be a very trying experience.
But as Adi Iva Matakitoga says, the hardship is increased because handicapped children in this country do not have the simple things that most other children, normal or special, around the world take for granted. Ms. Iva has 17 young children, most between the ages of 2 and 8 who come to the school for training in things as basic as eating and visiting the toilet.
Children who have both the physical and mental ability to learn more things can go on for preparatory classes which may lead to regular kindergartens of regular primary schools. A lot of people don’t realize that although the children here are severely disabled, they can still be taught and helped to have some quality of life says Ms Iva.
Unfortunately people tend to want to forget children who are disabled or handicapped. Ms. Iva, or “teacher Iva” as the parents and students at the school call her, say that these special children of the Early Intervention Centre on Brown Street lack some very basic things.
Beginning at 8.30 a.m., the children of the EIC with disabilities ranging from cerebral paralysis (cerebral palsy) to autism arrive at school. For half an hour, Ms Iva, some of the parents of the children, and often two or three caregivers will help the children to settle down.
Most of the time, the children are engaged in free play until 9 a.m. when, if they are lucky, a physiotherapist from the Colonial War Memorial Hospital will treat the children, most of whom are have at least three to five physical disabilities.
“If CWMH is overloaded, we might not be very lucky to get the physiotherapy because they have to go there first,” Iva said. “We have only one physiotherapist looking after the three special schools in the area so we are always in need of more.”
After that, the children are all involved in individually designed development programmes where educational tools and aids specifically made for children with special needs are used to teach each child basic skills.
“A lot of children come to us with no skills whatsoever and the EIC is really an assessment centre where we can look at what the child is able to do and match it against the development stage at which they should be at according to their age,” Iva said. “But often they leave here much stronger and able to do basic things.”
At around 10 to 11 a.m., the children have some musical sessions during which the parents and caregivers join the children to sing basic nursery rhymes and songs.
“Soon after that is lunch, and even that is not the easy carefree affair that noisy halls in other schools around the country usually are. What most people don’t realize is that we have to teach these children basic things like eating and going to the toilet,” Iva said.
“These are skills that they need to have and most of the time, the children will not be able to do for themselves things which we take for granted but things which can help give them a more decent life.”
By 1 p.m., the children are well on their way home and Ms. Iva and her caregivers stay back to clean up, lock up and prepare for another day. While teaching children seems fairly normal, a school day with the children of the EIC will show you otherwise.
“My biggest hope and I think this is something that all teachers in this field will agree to, is that all we really want is to teach and train these special children in such a way so that they might have some chance of a decent life,” she said.
Although most people think that once you are disabled, you can’t have a good life, it is not true. The life that these children are in if they are not helped and supported is worse. All we really need is help and support from the community and we can help these children.
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The furniture is sparse although gay and colourful. The educational tools and toys are in short supply and the school does not even have a play ground of a play corner. What most people take for granted in their homes and workplaces could go a very long way here, says Iva.
“For instance, some of these children have special food needs but regardless of that, we would just like to be able to heat up their lunch. So for us, a stove is very useful, its simple things like that.”
Ms. Iva said that while social workers and people studying disability care in tertiary institutions do come and help, the EIC does not draw the kind of support that other charities might.
“It would really help the parents of these children, some of who have other normal children to attend to, to be able to have some help with their children in school,” Iva said. “Sometimes, it is just me, a few parents and the many children.”
“We don’t even have to think materialistically all the time, all we really need once in a while is a helping hand that is free to come and help us with the children, even if it is just to clean up.”
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