ABU DHABI // An Emirati father claims he is being forced to send his dyslexic son to a boarding school in the United States because this country has no appropriate facilities.
A W’s 14-year-old son, Amaar, was found to be dyslexic only last year, despite struggling with daily chores and schoolwork for years. A W hopes boarding school will prepare him for college.
The father said he first spotted his son’s learning difficulties when he was nine years old, but experts from Abu Dhabi Education Counil could not diagnose the problem.
“From the first grade we knew there was something wrong. We thought he was slow. He was not reading or writing and although he was talking, he was way behind his peers,” said A W, 40, a father of five who works for the Government. “We could not pinpoint the problem. We were told we were lazy parents,” he said.
Last year the family were in the US, where Amaar was tested and found to be dyslexic. They were told treatment would last two years but because they could not stay there that long they came back to Abu Dhabi and started intervention and speech therapy at Taleem Training and Skills Development Centre.
“This year for the first time, I saw my son read in Arabic. Earlier, he was shy and he was not comfortable reading. His self-esteem is better now,” A W said.
But the therapy is not covered by insurance and costs A W between Dh150,000 and Dh180,000 a year. “I’m struggling to pay for my son. Our lives will be much easier if there is a boarding school for children with dyslexia in the UAE. We need a facility here,” A W said.
Expatriate parents of children with special needs said they also struggled with fees.
A B, 43, from Canada, whose eight-year-old son has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia said: “If your kid is that inbetween kid who doesn’t have autism and is not disabled, there really is nothing here.”
A B, who lives in Abu Dhabi, will return to Canada within a year or two so that her son can attend a special-needs school.
“I can get therapy here but my son needs a lot more than one or two hours a week. It’s about Dh150 an hour and six hours a day. I can’t afford that. It’s cheaper for me to separate my family and go back to Canada,” said the mother of three.
Dima, 39, a Jordanian expatriate living in Abu Dhabi, has two four-and-a-half-year-old twin boys who have learning difficulties. One of them receives therapy at the Taleem centre. “There are many institutes for speech therapy but they are very expensive. Free therapy or classes at school would help,” she said.
Khawla Barley, an American living in Abu Dhabi with an autistic child, said: “For Emiratis it is very hard to get therapy covered under Thiqa. They say it is provided, but practically it is not available.
“Because of the shortage of speech therapists in government hospitals you may be given appointments so infrequently it is of no use, [it is the] same with occupational therapists.
“Speech therapy and occupational therapy is not covered by Thiqa in private clinics.”
arizvi2@thenational.ae
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Dubai World Cup Carnival Thursday race card
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
What is 'Soft Power'?
Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye.
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength.
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force.
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.
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Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
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MATCH INFO
Liverpool v Manchester City, Sunday, 8.30pm UAE
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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Hogarth
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Tratok Portal
Founded: 2017
Based: UAE
Sector: Travel & tourism
Size: 36 employees
Funding: Privately funded
Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records