MONTEGO BAY, St James — Director of the Ministry of Education and Youth’s (MoEY) Region Four Dr Michelle Pinnock is urging parents of children with special needs to access the services being provided by the ministry.

Dr Pinnock said those living in Region Four are being encouraged to visit their Montego Bay office to obtain pertinent information from the Regional Special Needs Coordinator Tashikia Maxwell Sinclair, to assist in improving the learning experiences of their children. She noted that all children are entitled to proper education regardless of their intellectual abilities.

“Begin by visiting the regional office, then head directly to getting an assessment done at the Sam Sharpe Diagnostic Centre. The results of the report will be used to tailor the support to the child’s needs. In the period of waiting, parents should speak with the team at the diagnostic centre — ask doctors, special educators — conduct online research, and seek any other source where useful information is available,” she said.

Last week’s Sunday Observer newspaper reported that a 15-year-old Westmoreland boy was allegedly kicked out of two secondary institutions after a bipolar two diagnosis. The boy’s mother, Leteisha Cooke told the Sunday Observer that he was being bullied by the other students for being different.

She said this caused the boy to react with anger, ultimately leading to confrontations. She noted that the family was encouraged by the school’s guidance counsellor to have him tested for autism after one such confrontation. While they learned that he is not autistic, a visit to the psychologist revealed that their son has a type of bipolar disorder.

Cooke went on to state that the schools did not properly handle the situation surrounding her son. She said that she also reported the incidents to Dr Pinnock’s office but was given little to no solutions. Cooke’s son last attended school in October of 2022, and while the woman has been trying to have him registered in another institution, she has had no luck or support.

Dr Pinnock, however, told the Sunday Observer that the education ministry continues to support youngsters who need special education intervention, through multiple initiatives. She pointed out that these services are being manned by trained professionals who are passionate about assisting children to navigate the limitations that come with their respective intellectual, emotional, or physical disabilities.

“Education services are accessible by any child living in Jamaica and are done through the process of registration for admission into the school. A special need does not bar a child from accessing education in Jamaica,” Dr Pinnock told the Sunday Observer.

She continued, “However, the child guidance clinic or an attending psychiatrist must play a role in managing the mental disorder for the child to have the best experience in school.”

In addition to the assessments, Dr Pinnock stated that support is then provided to the family after the results are produced. This report is used to identify appropriate placement or to create intervention programmes to suit students’ needs.

Those students who are deemed in need of intervention are also accommodated by the education ministry, said Dr Pinnock. She explained that students living in Region Four who are in need of special education services have access to approximately 30 educational institutions across both the primary and secondary levels in St James, Hanover and Westmoreland.

“Where public places are deemed unfit, students are placed in private facilities where tuition is covered by the MoEY,” she told the Sunday Observer.

“Students with certain types of special needs sometimes require services that include a shadow, a person engaged to help students to succeed academically or provide physical support. The MoEY offers training and payment for shadows to serve in this capacity,” Dr Pinnock added.

She told the Sunday Observer that the MoEY also partners with the Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities to provide grants for registered students to help in the securing of sensory aids and to start small businesses.

While there are numerous reasons why a child may need the services of the Special Education Unit, Dr Pinnock shared that through a “systematic regime” the education ministry will work to see how much intervention is needed to support each child.

“A child with high-functioning autism will require special intervention for maximising his or her learning experience. Bipolar depression is a mental disorder that will require the support of a psychiatrist. Once the child is on a systematic regime that manages his presentation then the education system will assess the degree to which other forms of support is needed,” she said.

The regional director said additional programmes are also created by the education ministry to build awareness around the different categories of disabilities that may affect youngsters in schools.

“Learning disabilities are just one of the 14 categories of disabilities. Internationally, December third is observed as ‘International Day of Persons with Disabilities’. Here in Jamaica, we observe the first week of December as ‘Disabilities Awareness Week’,” she said.

“In this week we conduct various activities to help promote appreciation, tolerance, acceptance and accommodation. Sessions are also convened in various months as we pay special attention to the special need or disability observed in those months,” Dr Pinnock told the Sunday Observer.

Though the novel coronavirus pandemic placed a hamper on the initiatives for some two years, Dr Pinnock said the education ministry is “gently getting back into the groove” of working towards an inclusive educational sector for all.

“There is always room for improvement, despite the best of efforts. The Ministry of Education and Youth [is] aware that much more is required if inclusivity is to be the thread throughout Jamaica. We have come a long way in accepting and providing for persons with special needs,” she explained.

“The Special Education Unit now has in place a calendar that indicates the special needs and disabilities observances each month; these are shared with our schools, and activities are done surrounding these observances. The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed our efforts but we are gently getting back into the groove,” she added.

Dr Pinnock told the Sunday Observer that the Ministry of Education and Youth’s Region Four has successfully hosted three initiatives aimed at bringing awareness to different disabilities. She spoke proudly of the regional office’s attempt to shed light on blindness and visual impairment on World Braille Day on January 4.

“Three of our successes have been the light we have been able to shed on blindness and visual impairment, observed on World Braille Day on January 4; autism spectrum disorder, Autism Awareness Month in April; and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), ADHD Month in October,” said Dr Pinnock, while noting that they are still in the process of having these observations normalised in schools.