DUBAI // Dalya Tabari believes her eight-year-old son is a success story. Her family could afford to take him to the US to have his attention deficit disorder treated and he is doing well.
But that has not stopped the occasional worries.
"Every once in a while I have a nightmare and wake up and think, what if we weren't able to support him?" Ms Tabari said.
It is for such families she and Nof Al Mazrui are setting up The Developing Child Centre.
The centre will serve children with learning differences or special needs whose parents do not have access to or cannot afford help. It is scheduled to open in February in Umm Suqeim.
Ms Tabari and Ms Al Mazrui aim to keep the waiting list short, and the centre's profits will go towards financial aid.
"We want everybody to access quality services," said Ms Al Mazrui. "Every child deserves that."
The centre will offer evaluations and diagnoses and an individualised education programme for children under the age of six.
It will provide extra support including occupational, behavioural and speech therapy, and tutoring up to the age of 18 to help youths succeed in mainstream schools.
Although efforts are under way to include special-needs students in mainstream schools, many lack the resources and trained teachers needed.
"Ideally, the children should get the services they need inside the school and if there is additional work to be done at home, it should be in the family," said Prof Eman Gaad, dean of the education faculty at The British University in Dubai.
"However, because we do have a lack of support systems in [schools] … obviously we welcome any additional help that can be offered to parents."
Ms Al Mazrui and Ms Tabari believe there is high demand for their services, especially for "grey zone" children who do not have severe disabilities but still need support.
Some of the existing special-needs centres have long waiting lists.
"We were lucky and space opened," said Viviane Huion, whose 13-year-old son has autism and attends the Future Centre for Special Needs in Abu Dhabi. "But I heard from several friends that sometimes there are years for waiting lists."
Because her son cannot speak, Ms Huion, from the Netherlands, believes the separate school is his only option.
"These spaces are very precious and, of course, we're paying for it," she said. "I will keep this space as long as I can."
One programme with no waiting list is the Child Early Intervention Medical Centre in Dubai, which provides therapies and other services to children with autism.
But even if a parent can secure a place, some cannot afford it, said Dr Hibah Shata, the centre's co-founder.
"The fees of treatment in private centres are high," Dr Shata said. "It's not because private centres are trying to make a lot of money out of it. It's because the service is very costly.
"People specialised in the field are very expensive. The parents feel frustrated."
Ms Tabari and Ms Al Mazrui hope that putting their profits in their "Hibah" - or gift - fund will ease the burden.
"It will help subsidise the costs of the therapies and services for families who need financial aid," Ms Tabari said. "People could actually apply for grants."
They aim to have the fund ready by 2014. They are also interested in expanding beyond Dubai.
"For as long as the demand is there, we will keep opening centres in every emirate," Ms Tabari said. "So no one ever feels the waiting list is so long they can't get in the door."
Dr Shata said: "Dubai is an area that has a lot of centres now trying to work with children who have autism. But places like Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman - they are still so much deprived of services."
vnereim@thenational.ae
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
THREE
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
The fake news generation
288,000 – the number of posts reported as hate speech that were deleted by Facebook globally each month in May and June this year
11% – the number of Americans who said they trusted the news they read on Snapchat as of June 2017, according to Statista. Over a quarter stated that they ‘rarely trusted’ the news they read on social media in general
31% - the number of young people in the US aged between 10 and 18 who said they had shared a news story online in the last six months that they later found out was wrong or inaccurate
63% - percentage of Arab nationals who said they get their news from social media every single day.
RESULTS
Time; race; prize; distance
4pm: Maiden; (D) Dh150,000; 1,200m
Winner: General Line, Xavier Ziani (jockey), Omar Daraj (trainer)
4.35pm: Maiden (T); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Travis County, Adrie de Vries, Ismail Mohammed
5.10pm: Handicap (D); Dh175,000; 1,200m
Winner: Scrutineer, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
5.45pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
6.20pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Ejaaby, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
6.55pm: Handicap (D); Dh160,000; 1,600m
Winner: Storyboard, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap (D); Dh150,000; 2,200m
Winner: Grand Dauphin, Gerald Mosse, Ahmed Al Shemaili
8.05pm: Handicap (T); Dh190,000; 1,800m
Winner: Good Trip, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
ON%20TRACK
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New schools in Dubai
more from Janine di Giovanni
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
