KUCHING: The One Stop Early Intervention Center (OSEIC) which has gained much traction here despite it being only set up late last year is now thinking of reaching out to the interior.
The center’s way forward is going rural which will be debated at the State Cabinet for it to be implemented immediately, said Minister of Women Development, Children and Community Well-Being Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah here today.
She said there are currently 257 special needs children registered with the center which was established on October 30 last year.
“We see more and more parents getting their children enrolled at the center, said Fatimah, who was speaking to reporters at a press conference after attending the OSEIC’s Advisory Committee Meeting.
“It offers diagnosis, early intervention and rehabilitation to autistic, Down’s syndrome and learning disabled children aged seven and below under one roof and 257 children have enrolled at OSEIC Sarawak with the 90 diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 84 with speech delay,” she said.
Fatimah also disclosed that 26 managed to enroll for formal education either in mainstream classes or special classes under the Ministry of Education.
“In this short span of time, the number of registered children has increased tremendously. Thus, the number of staff needs to be increased to accommodate new intakes.
“At the same time, the center must expand in order to accommodate the increasing number of children and staff. This justifies the renovation of the first floor that was approved at the last Advisory Committee Meeting with a total allocation of RM1.2 million including for furniture and fittings,” she said.
