The Government is strengthening its capacity to diagnose and intervene on behalf of special needs children, with the establishment of a diagnostic centre at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), in Portland.
Education, Skills, Youth and Information Minister, Senator Dr. the Hon. Dana Morris Dixon, made the announcement while speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Sav Inclusive Academy High School in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on Thursday (September 24).
Senator Morris Dixon indicated that the new facility at CASE is expected to be completed by early October and will form part of a broader push to expand diagnostic services across the island by reducing the burden on families who currently have to travel to Kingston for assessments.
She noted that the Portland centre will serve not only that parish but also residents of St. Mary and parts of St. Thomas, to bring diagnostic services closer to home for many families who previously had limited options.
“The contractor in this case has said by early October that work will be completed, and we’re very happy that we’re going to be having that,” Senator Morris Dixon outlined.
She pointed out that expanding diagnostic facilities is only one part of the challenge as Jamaica continues to face a shortage of professionals trained to provide specialised services, adding that the country has a long waiting list of children requiring assessments.
The Minister said the Government is seeking to increase the number of specialists available to meet the demand, by offering scholarships to teachers and other professionals interested in specialising in areas such as special needs education, educational psychology, clinical psychology, speech therapy and occupational therapy.
“So, if you know anyone who has an interest in this area, know that there are scholarships available. I feel quite sad when I know the needs that we have and then we put scholarships, and then they don’t get taken up. So, I’m asking you to be evangelists with me and talk about these scholarships that we do have,” Senator Morris Dixon said.
In the meantime, the Minister said Sav Inclusive Academy is an example of the type of integrated support that can help transform the educational experience for children with special needs.
The academy, operated with the support of the Rockhouse Foundation, currently serves children from the infant level through grade seven and provides educational and therapeutic interventions on the same campus.
Minister Morris Dixon said the Ministry is studying the model because it provides a range of services in one location, reducing the burden on parents who would otherwise have to take their children to different facilities for speech therapy, occupational therapy and other interventions.
For her part, Chairman of Sav Inclusive Academy and President of the Rockhouse Foundation, Anna Thwaites-Wallace, indicated that construction for the new high school is planned to start in the summer of 2027.
She said that they plan to build one or two classrooms per year, ultimately reaching 14 classroom spaces, along with a large meeting hall, additional therapy rooms, and specialised labs to support STEM, agriculture, home economics, and construction building.
The school currently serves children from K1 (three-year-olds) through grade seven.
“We will have the facilities that they need in order to have the learning and the experiences appropriate for not only their age level, but also for their capabilities and capacities,” she noted.
