RAIDS: A school of great comfort and solace for kids with autism

Normal children like to go outside, explore the exterior and play with their friends but it is quite the opposite for children with autism. They would rather stay indoors for days on end like a prisoner, said Rima Akter, mother of an intellectually disabled child.

"My son Rayhan is 16 years old but his behaviour resembles a four-year-old child. He will stay home all day long unless I take him out," Rima told The Business Standard.

"Handling kids with autism can be so challenging that sometimes even the closest relatives consider them a burden," Rima shared from her own experience.

Even though some autistic children can go to mainstream primary schools, most of them cannot because they need additional support at schools like specialist teachers, aides, training or resources. Finding such an institution in Bangladesh is not easy. 

But after a long search, Rima Akhter and her husband found the right place with the right environment where Rayhan can relish the open space and playground without worry and grow up into a wonderful individual with great potential one day.

"About five months ago, we admitted Rayhan to Ramna Autistic and Intellectually Disabled School (RAIDS) in Dhaka. He is now learning to become more self-reliant. He will be educated with some skills in line with his adopting power to support himself in future," said Rima.

RAIDS Headmaster Tahmina Parvin told The Business Standard, "We educate special children with lessons that are useful in the conduct of life and provide therapy as per need with minimum fees.

"Our target is to make every special child self-dependent. At least they never become a burden to others for his livelihood."

Education of special ability groups is a little bit costly as the curriculum is different from general education, Tahmina said, adding: "We create a separate lesson plan for each student in each class. They have to teach in a much more enjoyable way."

The school sometimes faces financial difficulties. Thankfully, some donors and development partners have already extended support to run the programme smoothly, Tahmina said.

"Earlier, we did not have a disability-friendly lavatory, a must-have facility for special kids, due to financial limitations. Children had to take someone's support in using the washroom as many of them cannot use it without holding someone or going to a distant place," Tahmina Parvin said.

But that situation has changed thanks to WaterAid Bangladesh – an international non-governmental organisation focused on water, sanitation and hygiene, she said. "It has built bathroom facilities adjoining each of our classrooms which is helping the children to be more self-dependent and the teachers to remain worry-free." 

Our toilets are also equipped with a ramp system for our wheelchair-dependent students, thanks to this joint effort by WaterAid and Sajida Foundation. Now, physically disabled students are being able to go to the washrooms by themselves, the RAIDS head teacher said.

"Another aspect we significantly benefited from is the availability of safe drinking water. Earlier, we had to keep boiled water for the children here and their parents would send water bottles from home," she said.

"Moreover, we also have young menstruating girls here. Often, the period timing remains unpredictable, leading to ruining clothes. There was a necessity for sanitary napkins and thanks to the installation of vending machines by the development partners," the headmaster added.

Babul Bala, programme manager of Urban WASH at WaterAid, said, "WaterAid's dream is to ensure that everyone has access to safe water, hygienic toilets, and healthy practices. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have also set a target in this regard." 

"Hence, when we work to ensure safe water and hygiene practices for people, we focus on how we can bring these necessities to these people in particular," he said.

"Working with the Society for the Welfare of the Intellectually Disabled (SWID) School is one example of our sincere efforts to help people with intellectual disabilities with our services," Babul added.