Autism and Us

Autism & Us - Adita, Devina and Karan  //  Karan was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder at the age of 3 years. His mother, Adita, and sister, Devina, blog about their experiences with autism in their daily lives.

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Dec 14 / 4:44pm

Participate in a special Sports Carnival + the #manzilbooks update

by Devina Divecha

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That's just a small fraction of the books that was loaded into the bus that came to pick it all up a few days ago. I want to thank everyone who donated their books to raise money for Manzil. I had nearly 2,000 in my house, and my father for one, is extremely happy that his storage room is empty now so he can stuff his things back in! I also picked up the books from Wild Peeta; a very big thank you again to them for letting me fill their shelves with the books we were collecting (I'm going to still collect until January, so please keep donating!).

Okay, so when IS the booksale? Many people have been asking me and I've been quite puzzled about it myself. After loads of delays, I've been told the plan is to hold it during the school's Sports Carnival. I'm attaching the information given to me about the event here, sent to my by email:

Our theme for this year is “Together We Can”. To promote the same, we are organizing a Sports Carnival on Saturday 28th January 2012, from 10.00 am to 5.00pm, at the Khalifa University, Sharjah.

We are inviting mainstream and special needs schools from the U.A.E to participate in various activities. There will also be different kinds of stalls and games. The stalls are sold for minimum amount of AED 300. This is in the form of a donation. You may choose to pay more.

Please come forward to be part of our team to show the society that you care. Entries for participation will be received on or before Thursday 22nd December 2011.

And the formal letter that invites participation from members of the public:

Click here to download:
invitation_for_Stalls_-_11-12.pdf (8 KB)

Please spread the word to anyone whom you think might want a stall at the event! Thank you :)

Filed under  //  Sharjah   UAE   community event   special needs  
 
Dec 9 / 11:50am

Special needs children enjoy camping in Fujairah (via Gulf News)

by Devina Divecha
Media_httpgulfnewscom_wbmpo

The first time we stayed away from home, the first time we travelled far with our friends and the first time we used a sleeping bag. How many of us will remember these experiences?

These and many more experiences were felt during Manzil's overnight camp at Ain Al Madhab Gardens in Fujairah. What made this camp different was that students from Manzil, a centre for individuals with special needs in Sharjah, were accompanied by their "buddies" from The Millennium School, Dubai, where they attend a partial inclusion programme every Wednesday.

All students, escorted by the staff , filed into vans one Thursday afternoon and soon reached the camp site. After putting away their baggage, the students enjoyed a game of football. They then went and explored the play equipment in the park. Later, it was time for drumming, music and some dancing.

In the evening, there was a barbeque and all the students sat down for dinner and watched a movie. By 10pm all Manzil students were fast asleep.

The next morning, after freshening up, the students had breakfast and by 9.30am they were headed back to school where their eager parents were waiting to take them home. The parents were surprised to hear about all their activities. The students had even packed up all their things independently.

It was a wonderful experience for these truly special students.

— The writer is an Inclusion Programme Coordinator at Manzil

via gulfnews.com

 

Filed under  //  Manzil   UAE   special needs