#Providenciales, April 2, 2019 – Turks and Caicos – In the Turks & Caicos Islands,
emphasis has been placed on the registration of individuals with special needs;
this allows for effective planning and execution of programs. There are
62 persons registered with the Special Needs Unit with autism consisting of 50
males and 12 females; being the largest group represented on the National
Registry of Persons with Special Needs.
Much has been accomplished through
partnership such as ongoing collaboration with various partners both national
and international. One such partnership with the 1 World Foundation has
resulted in on the ground care with three visits a year to the TCI for
assessment of children with developmental delays, inclusive of a visiting
Speech and Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Behavioral Therapist
and Neuro-physiologist. This has allowed many to experience services
never previously offered domestically with on the ground diagnosis, thus
providing a greater degree of accessibility to services.
Ms. Betty-Ann Been, the Director of
Special Needs Unit, stated; “There
have been challenges such as the recruitment of in country therapists; it is
anticipated that the posts will be filled shortly. Our quest is for all
children with special needs be given equal opportunities, embracing their
differences through educational as well as social inclusion and employment
opportunities”.
The Hon. Edwin Astwood, Minister of
Health, Agriculture and Human Service of the Turks & Caicos stated; “My Government is committed to the
development of children with special needs, thus a school for children with
special needs is forth coming for this financial year 2019/2020 for Grand Turk
in addition to an Autism Policy to ensure inclusion.”