Maranatha expands special needs unit

Maranatha Basic School is expanding its special education programme to accommodate more children with autism and other neurodivergent conditions, offering hope to parents who have struggled for years to secure a place for their children.

 

“We have started refurbishing a section of the school. We had a section that was locked up and we are now working on it to be used for autistic students,” principal Arlene Lesley-Bernard shared.

 

The school currently has a population of 120 students, including 10 children with special needs, but plans are now under way to expand capacity to take in up to 30 more children beginning in September.

 

“We have a lot of parents who have been coming in to ask questions because we made our flyers and sent them out to say we are accepting children with special needs come September. I have gotten numerous calls,” Bernard said.

 

“Some person who call say, ‘Wow miss, your school is off the radar’, and they are not living near, but I said to them, as long as they can come in, we are here to take these children.”

 

Already, interest has stretched beyond the Waterhouse community.

 

“There are parents from the community, and there are also parents that is not from the community. We have parents as far as Old Harbour and Portmore.”

 

Their desperation is understandable. In Jamaica, it is estimated that one in every 100 children is diagnosed with autism, but advocates say access to specialised schools and early intervention remains limited. 

 

Families often face long waits for assessments and school placements, with approximately 223 children presenting symptoms of autism currently on the waiting list at The Mico CARE Centre. Experts have also pointed to shortages in behavioural, occupational and speech therapy services islandwide.

 

For Bernard, the demand reflects years of unmet need.

“I do have parents come in who break down in front of me saying, ‘Miss, this is something that they have been waiting for a long time because they have tried number of schools and because of the child’s special needs, they get turned down’,” she shared.

 

“So it’s like they are overwhelmed. Some would cry and some will say, ‘Miss, I really appreciate it and I’m here to work with you to help you to work with my child’.”

 

Bernard explained that the school caters to children between ages two and six and has systems in place to support both neurotypical and neurodivergent students in the same environment.

 

“We have trained teachers on staff, and we have trained teachers that are expected to come September. We have counsellors who come in, we are also aligned with Early Stimulation, so they send personnel from outside to do their diagnostic testing.”

 

“They are in the regular classroom with the other children. They learn through the same teaching aids and assistance.”

 

Even children who are non-verbal have shown progress.

 

“There is a lot of progress in our special needs students. We have children here that even though they cannot speak, they can identify, they can communicate. When asked to show or touch something they are able to do so.”

 

The expansion will include a specially retrofitted stimulation room to better support neurodivergent children, including those with autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome.

 

“I’m trying to create a space for them, a stimulating room, so in that room, it is all play and learn and early stimulation for them.”

 

For parent Kendacia Palmer, whose non-verbal son attends the school, the programme has already made a major difference.

 

“This is the only school in the area that actually accepts neurodivergent kids. I’ve done my research and this is the only institution in the entire area that offers services for kids on the spectrum.”

 

She recalled the challenges of trying to find a safe learning environment for her son before enrolling him at Maranatha.

 

“I had a challenge getting my son into a school. Every morning I was dropping my son at the school, I was worried for the entire day until I got him back,” she said, explaining that the previous institution was not equipped to support children with special needs.

 

Now, she says the changes in her son have been remarkable. “He only ate like five foods. Now he eats every and anything, specifically healthy foods.”

“He is non-verbal, which means that he doesn’t speak, but he communicates in different ways. If I give an instruction, even though he does not verbally respond, he will do what I say.”

 

“At first he did not maintain eye contact and he is doing so now. Normally he does not socialise with kids. He is actually improving now because I can see where he plays and constantly hugs and that’s not something I could have gotten him to do prior to him being enrolled in Maranatha Basic School.”

 

She believes the school’s expansion could be life-changing for many families. “There are a lot of parents that do not normally actually express it because some persons are taboo about it. Not many persons want to open up to say, ‘My kid is different’. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

 

“Once you identify that there is an issue, the best you can do is look help for your child because no one wants to know that your child is left behind.”