الأخبار

The newly formed IIUM Special Parents Group that is affiliated with the IIUM Disability Services Unit, had a recent informal meeting with Prof. Dr. Ratnawati Mohd Asraf, Director of the Research Management Centre (RMC) of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

The meeting was held in RMC and centred on research problems of special needs research, possible research grants and publications on special needs areas. The IIUM Special Parents Group was formed both by Dr. Aida Mokhtar, an IIUM Communication lecturer, with Prof. Dr. Ruzita, Head of the IIUM Disability Services Unit, in October 2018. There are over 50 parents encompassing both academicians and administrators of the IIUM who have special needs children that are members of the group.

IIUM Special Parents Group sought advice from Prof. Dr. Ratnawati who informed the meeting that more research studies need to be conducted by IIUM academicians on the areas of special needs. She guided Prof. Dr. Ruzita and IIUM special parents in developing research problems after listening to what they had experienced in relation to special needs children.

Some of the research problems encompass issues with special needs education, the bad perception towards children with special needs, the need for devices in assisting people with special needs for their independence, the issues with current laws and policies related to special needs, communication issues of special needs, the problems associated with the future of special needs children after school and the like.

The Director mentioned that research studies on special needs could be a collaboration between academicians from the social sciences and sciences fields.

She also mentioned that research grants are available from private and governmental organisations including the Ministry of Education Malaysia and international organisations for IIUM academicians to request from for their research studies on special needs areas.

The proposals submitted should be of interest to the funding bodies concerned for them to be approved and awarded the grants as the Malaysian government would be interested in research topics that were related to National Research Priority Areas.

They include computer sciences and Information Communication Technology (ICT), Engineering, Medical and Health Sciences and Social Sciences and Humanities. These areas could be researched in relation to special needs to generate frameworks, practical inventions and innovations.

Publications should also be churned by academicians on special needs areas in the form of journal articles and books with the objective of creating awareness of special needs areas. This stems from the lack of acceptance encountered by special parents of their families by mainstream society. Awareness should transform into interest, desire and action in terms of accepting special needs people as supported by the AIDA model.

The importance of going back to basics was also brought up in the meeting with the importance of recalling the National Education Philosophy in Malaysia that focuses on the continuous effort of developing the potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner. This Philosophy needs to be imbued better in special needs education in Malaysia.