Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mostafa Jabbar called on the stakeholders to focus on computer skills for children with special needs. He said: No child will be excluded from educational activities due to disability. People with special features are able to work with the same proficiency as everyone else on computers and the Internet using a variety of digital devices. The Minister said that besides the programs adopted by the government for the development of creativity and talent of children with special needs, private service organizations should also come forward.
The minister made the remarks while addressing a function titled ‘Super Power Parent’ with parents of children with special needs on Tuesday night at the FDC auditorium in the capital to mark the epoch of ATN News.
Education Minister Dipu Moni was present on the occasion while the ATN News chief Mahfuzur Rahman presided over the function. The program got off to a good start with the presentation of a documentary on children with special needs presented by journalist Munni Saha. Later in the program, mothers of children with special needs shared their struggling experiences.
The Minister of Posts and Telecommunications said that there is no alternative to employment to ensure the development of people with special needs and increase their status in the family and society. Even a few years ago, people in Bangladesh had no idea about autism.
The relentless efforts of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter Saima Wazed have raised the importance and awareness of autism nationally and internationally. At his initiative, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Increasing Healthcare and Socio-Economic Assistance for Children with Autism and Their Families”.
Mustafa Jabbar, the inventor of Bengali language in digital technology, said that books are now being printed for the visually impaired in Braille method with the help of digital technology. Many years ago I created my own Braille software.
Sign language software has also been developed. Launching the ‘Disability Information System’ software to ensure the development of persons with disabilities, the Minister assured to provide any assistance in setting up digital training centers for the children with special needs to make them useful human resources in the digital age.
The Minister appreciated the role of ATN family in organizing such programs with the parents of children with special needs and in promoting regular programs with them.
The two ministers handed over a crest of special honors to the mothers of six children with special needs and a check for one lakh Taka each. ATN News provided these honors and checks.