KUCHING: A One-Stop Early Intervention Centre (Oisec) to provide early intervention for special needs children aged seven and below will be set up in Metrocity, Matang.
This was confirmed by Welfare, Community Well Being, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah during a press conference at the Baitulmakmur building here yesterday.
“This morning, we had a meeting on the proposed centre and interviewed four non-government organisations (NGOs) on their implementation proposal,”she explained.
“The project will be funded by Petronas using their corporate social responsibility grant of RM4 million.”
She revealed that a panel was currently evaluating all the proposals and would convene a meeting on the matter.
In another development, Fatimah revealed that the mnistry’s recent trip to Perth, Western Australia was related to the construction of primary schools which would cater for special needs children.
“We learnt a lot from our visit in Perth on schools for special needs children. This also includes support services, intervention, rehabilitation and how inclusion can be done for them.
“The school will serve children with special needs, especially ones with severe case of autism. Mainstream schools will serve children with mild cases of autism.
“But for the more challenging ones, we will concentrate on them as they are the ones who will be attending the school from primary one until they finish primary school.
“After early intervention, the children with mild autism will be integrated into mainstream schools with other normal children,” said Fatimah.
