RIYADH — A program aimed at empowering disabled female students was launched here recently. Organized by the Special Education Department in cooperation with the King Salman Center for Disability Research and Tawasul Voluntary Group, the program seeks to help disabled students overcome any social and educational difficulties. "Today we are launching units for diagnosis and evaluation of disabled students. Prior to this, we only had two centers for diagnosis and evaluation: one was Prince Sultan Center for Special Education Support Services and an early diagnosis center in the east of Riyadh. "We used to have a substantial number of girls waiting for months to be diagnosed and then directed to the most suitable educational track for them. So by today's launching, we are going to have many units across Riyadh to best serve disabled students," said Hanan Al-Khulaifi, the head of the Special Education Unit in Riyadh. Each unit will serve select areas and neighborhoods of the capital with a department aiming to sufficiently provide services in the shortest time possible. When asked about what types of diagnosis students will undergo, she replied: "Each unit has specialists to thoroughly diagnose students; the type and degree of their disability, their IQ and even the psychological state of the disabled student." Students will undergo 4 main phases of diagnosis including speech and language disorders and the Binet-Simon IQ test. Once completed, the department will analyze the results and recommend what educational track best suits the student. Customized programs are available for all types of disabilities including mental, hearing and visual, physical, emotional and learning impairments.
