KAJANG: Seventeen disabled children with various learning disabilities began their first day of school in high spirits at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Kantan’s (SKSK) Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi (Integrated Special Child Education Programme [PPKI]) here today.
Among them is a pair of autistic twins, Muhammad Amzar Muhammad Hafiz and Muhammad Amsyar, aged seven, who could not be separated from each other and were spotted having their meals side-by-side at the school canteen under the tight supervision of their school teachers.
Speaking on their behalf was the head prefect, Aidid Irfan, 12, who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
“Special kids like us love going to school,” Aidid said. “Our school is a good school. The teachers make learning so much fun for us,” he added.
According to PPKI senior assistant Noraziah Dahalan, SKSK began its PPKI classes in 1996.
“We have 16 specially-trained teachers to handle children with different types of learning disabilities,” said Noraziah.
“While most of our Year One students are seven years old, there are five students who are eight years old and they are retained in Year One because of their special needs.”
Most of their school lessons, Noraziah added, are designed to help children develop their self-confidence, basic survival skills and good social skills.
The school has 75 PPKI students, out of which seven are visually impaired (BL).
“Our BL students are top students. One of them scored 3A, 1B and 2Cs in the UPSR exam last year,” she said.
Taking a cue from the phenomenal success of Malaysia’s Paralympians at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Noraziah said her PPKI students are also actively involved in sports.
“My students love futsal, lawn ball and bowling. They have even competed at the Hulu Langat district level,” she added.