Therapy facility at SMK Segambut for special needs students

KUALA LUMPUR: Special needs students of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Segambut, here, today received a "gift" from the Foreign Ministry Puspanita with the launching of a therapy room to assist in their development.
The Seri Ruby Therapy Room created under the Special Education Integration Programme (PPKI) at the school is aimed at, among others, improving the motor, cognitive, language and social interaction skills of the students involved.
The Foreign Minister's wife, Datin Seri Siti Rubiah Abdul Samad said this social responsibility project was the result of collaboration between the ministry's Puspanita, 1Malaysia for Youth (1M4U) volunteers and several other individuals for the benefit of these students with learning disabilities, including those with autism and Down's Syndrome.
"Hopefully, this therapy room provides a conducive environment according to the set standards to give comfort and positive sensory stimulation to the special needs children," she said at the launch.
Also present were Foreign Ministry Puspanita president, Datin Seri Hafipah Mohd Shah and SMK Segambut principal, Tengku Norlin Tengku Majid. Puspanita is the Association of Wives of Civil Servants and Women Civil Servants.
The therapy room is the first of its kind in any school in Kuala Lumpur.
According to SMK Segambut special education senior assistant, Mohd Yusaini Yaakub, the school has 47 students, aged 13 to 19, and from various races. They are slow learners, autistic, having Down's Syndrome or physical disabilities.
Various devices are made available at the therapy room to stimulate and increase awareness of their surroundings through sight and hearing, to help them achieve calm and turn away their attention from distractions, besides raising their level of confidence through interaction during the therapy sessions. — Bernama