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SUNDAY 2 APRIL 2017 CAMPUS | 7 HEALTH | 10 HOLLYWOOD | 12 DohaDoh College scoops Peanut butter good Khloe worried aboutbout ‘double crown’ in for heart and becoming ‘failingg GMC Triathlon general health sister’ Email: [email protected] April 2 03 SUNDAY 2 APRIL 2017 CAMPUS BPS starts new academic session today irla Public School will reopen to feel the lightness and joy of our today after a brief recess. true nature and to experience it in B Even though classes from our hearts. “When we listen to the 1 to 10 will reopen today in Abu heart and capture the inspiration Hamour, Kindergarten (KG) 1 in the that comes from within, we can Nuaija Campus, KG 2 and class XI master our life,” said the resource will begin only on April 10. people. In the wake of this teachers had A 6-day workshop on ‘Differ- a rigorous training on differentiated entiating Instruction’ was instruction, followed by orientation conducted from March 18 to 23. section-wise and department –wise. Teachers participated very actively They also had a three day ‘heartful- in the workshop conducted by Ajit ness meditation’ workshop. They Moorkoth, Assistant Professor of also had wise sessions on ‘team Special Education from India. The building’ ‘creating a personal vision workshop was organized by the statement for life’, stress manage- Compassionate Alliance, Doha. ment, ‘banking –time’ “It is Teachers received certificates important that you work as a team. on completion of Differentiating As a team you can achieve greater Instruction workshop. things which individual persons The workshop used differenti- might fail to achieve’ Michelle ation procedures so that Motha, Student Counsellor, the participating teachers received resource person at these sessions, first-hand experience in differen- told the teachers. tiated instruction for all their Teachers in their workshop got students in classroom. The work- to learn to be children again and shop engaged teachers in practical she taught them ways to de- stress work on differentiated lesson con- in the midst of life through tent, teaching strategies, and laughter’. demonstration of learning out- Kindergarten teachers were comes in all children. introduced to a technique called Teachers discussed the princi- ‘Banking Time’, which is used to ples of Universal Designs for help teachers to deal with children Learning and creation of brain- having behavioural issues in the compatible classrooms, finally classroom. The importance of hav- rearranging a classroom based on ing a personal and professional these principles. Teachers were vision statement was discussed also introduced to co-operative along with an introspection activ- learning structures, techniques for ity to help teacher develop their actively engaging students, and own personal vision statement. revised Howard Gardner’s theory The ‘heartfulness meditation’ of ‘Multiple Intelligence’ session for three days was Kindergarten teachers and grade resourced by Padmini Sundar. R 1 and 2 teachers received training Sundar, Hemachandran and on implementing ‘jollyphonics’, a Bhaskara Rao, were present at the reading and spelling program, at the workshop. Kids Valley campus. Freda Baksh Teachers learnt to discover how was the resource person. 04 COVER STORY SUNDAY 2 APRIL 2017 Sidra provides unique family-centred Autism care Fazeena Saleem treatment recommendations. The Strategy Workgroup and co- self-care, social, and communica- The Peninsula clinics also provide evaluation serv- writer of the Qatar National tion skills” she added. ices for children with comorbid Autism Plan said, “We are cur- Sidra through its services aising a child with Autism emotional and psychiatric issues. rently finalising the Qatar advocates community based Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Dr Fatima Janjua, Division National Plan and the final doc- approach involving parents and Rcan be complex and chal- Chief for the DDP, explained that, ument is the result of an families. lenging for parents and caregivers children referred with suspected extraordinary multidisciplinary Dr Ahsan Nazeer, Division as they have to face many issues ASD participate in a multidiscipli- and multiagency effort which Chief of Child and Adolescent Psy- on a day to day basis. nary assessment, on the same day, involved both statutory and vol- chiatry from Sidra (CAMHS) said, Each child with autism is a by a team of doctors, a psycholo- untary agencies including the “Family is an integral part of the unique individual, with unique gist, therapists and nurses. This Qatar Autism Families Associa- care and significant effort goes needs and abilities and many par- approach allows for a more accu- tion. As a professional recently into educating them during ses- ents find themselves in a constant rate and immediate diagnosis, arrived in Qatar, it was very grat- sions at our clinic. With the right flux of wondering and worrying which in turn leads to earlier ifying to work with so many support to the families – they in about how to cope and best help intervention. experienced and knowledgeable turn can help their child to learn, their child. “Children with suspected ASD colleagues from different institu- grow and thrive. Each family Sidra Medical and Research are referred to us from a range of tions, all fully committed to receives a detailed report of ini- Center’s (Sidra) approach to car- sources. On Sundays, we have two establish modern, evidence based, tial evaluation about the child. The ing for children with ASD is to hours of assessments for these comprehensive and family cen- report provides a valuable record provide care for the whole family. children. When I start seeing the tred Autism services in Qatar.” of the current functioning, diag- The concept ties in closely with children and family in one room “In autism like many other con- nosis of the child and possible Sidra’s overall goal to provide with one of the therapists, others ditions, early intervention is the treatment recommendations. patient and family centred care in another room will be observ- key for the best outcome. By help- Families can share this report with across all facets of health ing through a video link. At some ing parents to understand how the schools and different community delivery. point we swap, so at the end we child functions, and why they organizations to receive appropri- At Sidra, the Division of Devel- not only have a medical assess- behave in a particular way, we are ate services for their child.” opmental Pediatrics (DDP) and Child ment but also a multidisciplinary teaching parents how to approach In addition to accepting refer- and Adolescent Psychiatry clinics assessment. The information is the child in the right way. This can rals from Hamad Medical currently provide multiple services then produced into a joint report,” prevent many unavoidable chal- Corporation and Primary Health for children and young people with Dr Janjua told The Peninsula. lenges for both the parent and the Care Corporation - the Sidra DDP ASD. This includes comprehensive Dr Janjua, also a founding child.. If the child is happy and and CAMHS clinics also accept diagnostic assessments and member of the National Autism relaxed it can help them gain referrals from schools. 05 SUNDAY 2 APRIL 2017 COVER STORY “Accepting ASD referrals from schools is unique to Qatar. We have may help the person in question to go and seek help,” say the are working closely with different schools to provide education, health promoters. guidance and to help them with children who are in need of eval- For one day only – patients coming to Sidra today ( April 2) can uation and treatment interventions. Our recommendation and seek more information about ASD including the sensory problems in approach for the teachers is to use the SPELL framework which touch, smell, hearing, taste and sight among autistic children. Story recognizes strengths of the child and emphasizes that interven- telling sessions in Arabic and English, awareness videos and posters tions should be based on - structure, positive approaches, empathy, will be also feature at the Sidra outpatient clinic on the day. low arousal and links (between child’s life and various components of the program),” said Dr Nazeer. Sidra is currently part of a National Autism Working Group – which is under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Health. The group includes a dedicated consortium of various ministries, the public and private sector, hospitals and most importantly parents and care givers who are part of the Qatar Autism Families Associ- ation. The group is working closely to finalize a Qatar National Autism Plan. The plan is based on six pillars - Awareness; Early Recognition and Screening; Diagnosis and Assessment; Interven- tions; Education and Transition into Adolescence, Adulthood and Elderhood. Dr Muhammed Waqar Azeem, Chair of the Department of Psy- chiatry at Sidra, who is also Chair of the National Autism Working Group and Co-Chair of the WISH Autism Forum said, “The govern- ment in Qatar’s commitment to supporting families of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder is admirable. As a community and as a nation – our focus for caring for individuals with ASD should be to help them become an integral part of society and to feel safe and respected. I am confident that the national autism plan that is being developed in Qatar will have a major impact in improving the lives of individuals with autism and their families and that even- Sidra’s tips for parents tually, it can be a model for other GCC countries.” Autism is a neurodevelopment disorder. It is a lifelong devel- ocus on the positive - Praise your child for the good behaviour opmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and - like every other child they will respond well to positive rein- interact with others. Autistic people see, hear and feel the world forcement. Understand Autism - One of the most important factor differently to other people.