Sharjah's role in backing kids with disabilities praiseworthy

According to Dr. Amani Shabaan Shokr, families play an important role in society to protect the dignity of the differently-abled child

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Mental health and education experts and practitioners in the UAE discussed remarkable strategies that they use to work with young people, especially children with disabilities, to provide a positive and safe environment for them. The strategies were analysed at a session titled "Mental Health is a right, not a choice" at the World Congress 2025 'We Are Inclusion' which began in Sharjah on September 15 and continues until September 17.

Speaking about the importance of creating a positive culture and positive relationships for young people in order to provide an environment that is inclusive and positive, Cathy Duncan, behaviour specialist and trainer at Crisis Prevention Institute in Dubai, stated: "As adults, it is really important that we really believe that every young person we work with has the capacity to grow, to develop and they are not just there as a recipient to receive care. So we need to be their champion."

She added that safety is not just physical safety but their emotional, psychological and relational safety, and if one of them falls, it would jeopardise all of them. She presented the concept of "practitioner as intervention" where the way practitioners interact with young people was more important than the strategies used.