Ministry of Community Development Introduces Special Olympics to Empower of People of Determination

The Ministry of Community Development, through its booth in the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 at Zayed Sports City, introduces the community members with its services, initiatives and smart applications for the people of determination and their families in the UAE. These initiatives, ideas and projects that are adopted by the Ministry provide diverse services for the people of determination to keep pace with the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership.

Wafa Hamad Bin Sulaiman, Director of Welfare & Rehabilitation Department for People of Determination at the Ministry of Community Development stated that the ministry issued (20406) cards for the people of determination of different disabilities for both UAE citizens and residents of all nationalities. The card is the only official document to proof their disability in all the federal and government entities inside and outside the UAE in accordance with the federal law No. (29) of 2006. The card offers customers a range of services including benefits, discounts and facilities according to their type of disability in all federal, government, public and private sectors all over the UAE.

Wafa Hamad Bin Sulaiman emphasized that the booth of the Ministry at the location of the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 is a thorough experience for the UAE guests in general and the UAE community specifically as it introduces them to the initiatives, projects, services and smart applications to support and empower the people of determination in the UAE such as “nemow” application (in English growth) aimed at early detection developmentally delayed children who are less than 5 years old, refer them to the UAE early intervention program for full assessment of their condition and then provide suitable rehabilitation or  family services,

the recruitment platform for the people of determination in the ministry’s website to encourage them for registration to obtain job opportunities and at the same time encourage both government and private sectors to find suitable jobs for these categories.

At the ministry’s location in the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019, the booth also displays some of the ministry’s initiatives such as in terms of the welfare, rehabilitation and empowerment of the people of determination such as: tawasul application, social stories, “me and my brother” application, self-protection stories and manufactured products by the people of determination such as bracelets and coasters.

Tawasul application is based on creating communication ways with autism children and those children who have language and speech problems and increase their interaction with surrounding environments by using images as an alternative method of community. This method supports the development of autism children and their inclusion in the community.

Self-protection stories are aimed at people of determination children, boarding their perceptions, enhancing their empowerment and increasing their self-confidence when being abused in any daily life situation. The stories are based on a set of images that reflect real life situations that the children of determination may face or which threaten their security or harm them from the physical, sexual and emotional sides. The stories are intended to educate children about the simple ways of locating threats and how to deal with them and report them.

The social stories application “me and my brother” target autistic children and people of determination of intellectual disabilities. It aims for developing their communication with the social and family surroundings through images and enables children with communication problems to read images to express their feelings and needs in front of others.

The application includes a group of stories to the brothers or sisters of the people of determination to provide them with realistic information about disabilities according to their age categories and build positive attitudes towards the people of determination since childhood.