The Importance of special education
Gross motor lesson with Occupational Therapist, Jen
Gross motor lesson with Occupational Therapist, Jen

The Step By Step School tackles Autism

By Gibron Rahim
EDUCATION is never a one-size-fits-all. Every child has different educational needs. And every child has the right to have those needs fulfilled to the greatest extent possible. As we

A session with Speech Pathologist, Kerry

approach the end of Education Month 2017, an important branch of education must not be neglected – special education.

Operating through the Step By Step Foundation, the Step By Step School for children along the autism spectrum is one of the special education institutions that are changing the lives of its pupils in Guyana. The Step By Step Foundation School is reflective of the essential role of special education in the overall education system.

Guyana’s forward movement in special education, notably for children along the autism spectrum, should not be surprising considering how much has become known about autism in recent years. We now know that it is possible,with their special educational needs met, for children living with autism to have a very high quality of life. Dr. Suraiya Ismail, Chairperson of the Step By Step Foundation and Ms. Anjalena Beshpatty, Senior Tutor of the Step by Step School, took some time to inform the Pepperpot Magazine about the functioning of the school and the challenges it faces in meeting those special educational needs.

SPECIALISED NEEDS
Beshpatty noted that the school uses the applied behaviour analysis teaching method. This method has been scientifically validated and is dedicated to understanding how the actions and skills of children with autism are affected by the environment. She elaborated that ‘environment’ in this case “includes any influence, physical or social, that changes or is changed by one’s behaviour.”

Fine motor lesson with our occupational therapists

The school, she said, sets individualised programmes to meet each child’s strengths and weaknesses at all developmental skill levels. The school’s tutors work under the guidance of the school’s three US-based consultants, led by Dr. James Ellis.
There are structured classroom sessions every day where each child is able to have one-on-one interactions with a tutor. Group sessions are also conducted every day and Beshpatty relayed that these have proven themselves as useful as the individual sessions.

The principles and techniques used by the school aim to foster basic skills such as eye contact, listening, verbal communication and imitation, as well as, complex skills such as reading, writing, mathematics, and conversing with and understanding another person. These are all areas that children with autism typically struggle with.

Posing for a group photo (All photos courtesy of Step By Step Foundation)

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
A typical day at the school, explained Beshpatty, begins at 08:00hrs for the tutors. They arrive early to prepare for the arrival of the students at 08:30hrs. One-on-one sessions begin from the students’ arrival to 11:00hrs. From 11:00hrs to 11:30hrs students receive individual gross motor sessions followed by small social group sessions.

Then, from 11:30hrs to 12:00hrs, they have lunch, which also acts as a structured lesson to teach independence at mealtime, Beshpatty said. After lunch, the children are divided into three groups for more structured learning in a social environment. Finally, from 13:00hrs to 14:00hrs the children return to the classrooms where they receive more one-on-one learning sessions and also work on self-care programmes for their independence. After the students are dismissed at 14:00 hrs, the tutors spend an hour preparing materials and programmes for the next day.

ACHIEVEMENTS
There are often moments that affirm the school’s importance. These achievements, Beshpatty explained, include having a conversation with a child who could not speak before, seeing a child sit and eat independently, or getting dressed by him or herself, and listening to a child read or write when they could not speak or hold a pencil before. These tasks that we take for granted are momentous for the child with autism. Those occasions where the children rise to the challenges of life within the autism spectrum are “the most rewarding and amazing events for a parent or a tutor,” she said.

Beshpatty’s role as a special education teacher has much personal meaning to her. Her son, Sameir, now 14-years-old, suffers from autism. Her journey to finding an answer for what was wrong with her son when he was just two years old, is what made her life take on a new meaning. “It turned into a passion for finding a way to give him the best quality of life within the spectrum of autism,” she said. “A passion that still burns to this day because as he reached each goal set for him, a new one is added.” She expounded that, for her, it would be a sin to not share the knowledge and experience she has gained over the years and make a difference in the lives of other families.

CHALLENGES FACED
The school has its share of difficulties. The primary challenge Dr. Ismail told the Pepperpot Magazine is fund-raising to cover the cost of the school. The Step By Step Foundation is a registered charity and relies almost exclusively on the generosity of its numerous donors.

There is a high financial cost associated with the education the school provides, primarily because a low pupil to teacher ratio is demanded. Fortunately, she said, the Ministry of Education has recently provided them with three teachers whose salaries they cover, helping to reduce their costs. Moreover, the school’s three US-based consultants, whose inputs are essential to maintaining a high standard at the school, provide their expertise and skills at no cost.

Another pressing concern is the size of the present school’s site which is located in Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara. Ismail explained that there are many children on the school’s waiting list who cannot be admitted because the school is filled to capacity. “We are now actively fund-raising to build a new, bigger and better school,” she said.
Special education is undoubtedly necessary to providing every child the opportunity to live their very best life.

Though, as Dr. Ismail noted, the preferred policy is to include children with special education needs in mainstream schools, it is not possible for all these children, particularly those with moderate or severe conditions. “It is for this reason that we need special schools for those children, schools such as Step By Step School,” she said.
More information about the Step By Step School and the Step By Step Foundation can be found at stepbystepguyana.org.

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