All about the Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre
The Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre (DECDC) is a unique early intervention program that offers multi-disciplinary assessment and family-focused early intervention services for children with special needs or those prone to congenital disorders. The DECDC also provides educational services. Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about the Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre.
DUBAI EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTRE SERVICES
The DECDC offers a wide range of services that help children with special needs (also referred to as “people of determination”) to learn and grow at their own pace. Here’s a full list of the services the centre provides:
EARLY INTERVENTION
Early Intervention is one of the initial services offered to children and their families. The experts at the centre’s Intervention and Autism Unit work on the integrated early intervention program that caters to the learning needs of these children. Occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy and special education are among the various programs offered to the children. Here are the different stages of the Early Intervention service:
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
During the initial assessment stage, an experienced service coordinator will perform a basic assessment with the child and the family. It is usually conducted at the child’s home, school, or in some cases at the DECDC premises. The Initial Assessment stage includes:
- Psychosocial analysis
- Mental health
- Developmental aspects
- Health aspects
- Needs of the child
- Resources of the family
- Developmental screening of the child
PROGRAMMATIC ASSESSMENT
Following a detailed Initial Assessment, the next stage in Early Intervention is Programmatic Assessment. It focuses on building a profile of the child’s skills across diverse development areas such as fine motor, gross motor, self-care, communication, language, cognitive development and social-emotional progress. After a careful analysis, the experts develop an Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP) or an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP).
DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT
Diagnostic Assessment is a measurement tool developed by DECDC. The tool is used to compare an individual child’s performance to a representative group of the same age. This approach helps to assess the nature and severity of the suspected development delays.
FAMILY SERVICE COORDINATION
Another service offered as a part of the Early Intervention by DECDC, is Family Service Coordination. A counselling specialist acts as the primary contact person for the family during the program. The specialist coordinates with internal and external providers based on the requirements of the family.
INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP FAMILY COUNSELING
Besides a detailed analysis of the child with special needs, the family also gets a complete evaluation. The reason behind a comprehensive family-focused analysis is to formulate a support plan to assist the family. Different treatment sessions are generally conducted where an expert offers:
- Psychological counselling through group sessions
- Support for the family at home, school and workplace
- Skills development for the family to help them manage the challenges they might face
- Promote positive thinking and a hands-on approach to raising a differently-abled child
TRAINING SESSIONS FOR THE FAMILY
The next service offered at Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre is building capabilities and providing training to the families with a differently-abled child. The centre arranges training workshops and seminars to help parents understand the needs of their child and offers best practices of early intervention.
RAISING AWARENESS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
DECDC conducts awareness campaigns and workshops in different parts of Dubai to provide more information to the local community on early childhood intervention. These workshops are conducted at both government and private institutions.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SCREENING
The experts at the Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre conduct community developmental surveys in nurseries, kindergartens, schools and primary healthcare centres. The goal behind these surveys is to detect any developmental delays in children, from birth to five years of age.
TECHNICAL CONSULTATION
This service enables the experts at the DECDC to conduct a preliminary assessment by employing approved tools. This allows them to compare the child’s performance with other children in the same age group to determine the extent to which an in-depth diagnosis and evaluation are required.
REGISTRATION AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To register for the aforementioned services, head to the official Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre website and fill out the registration form. Make sure to add accurate and updated information to the form. You should then send it to DECDC_info@cda.gov.ae. The eligibility criteria for DECDC includes:
- UAE citizens living in Dubai with a valid National ID
- Decree owners
- Children of a female UAE citizen with a family book
- Proof of residence in Dubai
- The age of the child has to be between 0 to 5 years old
- The child is showing signs of developmental delay or disability
- The child requires early intervention services as indicated by evaluation tools
- Parents may be required to submit a diagnostic report from a licensed entity to develop the right intervention plan.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR REGISTRATION
The following documents are required to register for DECDC services:
- Diagnostic medical evaluation report (presented on request)
- Valid UAE ID card
- Valid passport copy
- Copy of the family book
- Two images
- Proof of residence in Dubai (Ejari, DEWA bills)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT DOES DECDC DO?
Dubai Childhood Development Centre or DECDC offers comprehensive early intervention services to special needs children and their families. Besides the various developmental issues diagnosis and evaluation, the centre also conducts public awareness campaigns to help differently-abled children and their families in detection and intervention at an early stage.
DOES DECDC HAVE QUALIFIED STAFF?
The centre has highly professional, experienced and trained staff that help in early intervention, diagnosis, evaluation and formulating the suitable approach for each child’s individual needs.
WHERE IS THE DECDC LOCATION?
The Dubai Early Childhood Development Happiness Centre in Dubai is located on the 4th floor of the Al Hudaibah Awards Building, Block C. The office is located at 5 Al Mehemal Street – Al Safa, Al Safa 2 – Dubai – United Arab Emirates
WHAT ARE THE SERVICE CHARGES FOR DECDC?
The services are available free of charge.
WHAT ARE THE DECDC CONTACT DETAILS?
For any queries please call: 800-2121, or email: DECDC_info@cda.gov.ae
That concludes our guide to Dubai Early Childhood Development Centre or DECDC. The centre offers services to children with special needs. Several facilities for people of determination are available across Dubai in both public and private spaces. There are also several schools in Dubai for special needs children.
We’ll conclude by telling you of the government established, Dubai Foundation for Women & Children (DFWAC). A truly fantastic foundation offering protection and support to victims of abuse, violence and human trafficking in the UAE.
