18
UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 7TH JUNE, 2015
Towards Social Integration: Rights, Roles, Recognition of Persons with Disabilities Conference
Toward s S o c ia l I nt e gr at i on
Is Our Future in Our Schoolbags too?
Therapeutic and educational prospects for children with speech and language difficulties in T&T
B y P r o f e s s o r V a l e r i e Y o u s s e f
This is a modified version of a paper presented by
Professor Valerie Youssef
at a conference hosted by
The UWI Network and Outreach for Disability Education and Sensitization (NODES) and the Disability Studies Unit (DSU)
, UWI, St Augustine on April 23 and 24, 2015.
The conference theme was
“Towards Social Integration: Rights, Roles, Recognition of Persons with Disabilities.”
In late 2014 it was observed
that parents attending
a private speech-language clinic in South Trinidad had
one topic that they voluntarily discussed while waiting
for their children: the lack of access to support for their
children’s medical and education needs. Since this complaint
ran at odds with the provision of services described on
Government documents, a questionnaire was set up, to be
supported, when possible, by interviews, in order to find
out more about this apparent contradiction.
The Minister of Education had himself noted that most
children are not being catered to (CARICOM/UNESCO
meeting, November 16, 2013) and we knew that the only
full-time speech-language pathologist working for the
Ministry of Health works at the General Hospital in Tobago.
We sought to get a real understanding of where the
challenges in the system lay in the hope that they might
then be specifically addressed.
A child case history form was developed which
included a question on financial support for child needs,
and two questions on informants’ experience of medical and
educational processes. Data was collected at three private
clinics, two of which run schools for children with speech
and language needs. One Clinic was in North, one in South
and one in Central Trinidad. Parents were asked for details
of the education their children had received to the time of
filling out the form.
Data on the children aged between five and fourteen
years are tabulated below.
Child Support by Government for Education and Speech-Language Services
We have identified those who are reported to be
receiving government education and those receiving speech
therapy services, including those supported financially
by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Health or
NGO. Five persons reported specifically that they received
support from the Ministry of Social Welfare to whom they
submitted receipts from the Speech-Language Clinics they
attended. Three of these also reported original referrals to
the SLP Clinic by the paediatrician at San Fernando General
Hospital.
The findings record only 10% of the children being in
government schooling and only 30% to be receiving speech
and language services. Of these more than 50% of girls and
30% of boys receive no financial support.
When reasons were given for non-attendance at
government schools these included most specifically the
need for an aide to work with the child. We were informed
that government had advertised for classroomaides without
success. One mother gave a figure that was supplied to her
of two aides for 200 applications. If an aide in the classroom
can support a child, he/she may enter the school but if
not the school deems it impossible because of potential
disruption and the inability of a single class teacher to give
individualized support.
Informally, we were assured that those who do work as
aides are persons doing on-the-job-training (OJT) with no
special qualification for this work. Some parents reported
that their children attended a variety of private institutions/
special schools and for the autism spectrum disorders four
persons reported having received supportive part-time
educational services from the Autistic Society of Trinidad
& Tobago.
Since we know that 12-20% of our school age
population have speech and language difficulties it seems
we need to do better in providing for their needs. This
population can contribute significantly to their social
environment and the local work force if they can obtain
education and therapy, but become a drain on themselves
and society if they cannot get support. It is suggested that
massive restructuring of education and allied health care
sectors is needed immediately to redress the current deficit.
More direct access to funding for therapeutic services is
perhaps the simplest concern to tackle and the provision
of aides for children with speech and language difficulties
perhaps the hardest. Training could be obtained however,
for persons seeking graduate employment. Finally SLPs
need to be attached to each hospital and health centre and
several attached to each school district. We recognize that
these provisions would cost money but what better resource
could be invested in, as Eric Williams so rightly saw, than
the growing generation.
