More Help for Persons with Disabilities

Persons with disabilities across the island are to continue benefitting from major interventions under the Social and Economic Inclusion of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) project, following an allocation of $130 million in the 2017/18 Estimates of Expenditure.

It aims to increase the employability and skills development of persons with disabilities (ages 18 to 36 years); and improve the service delivery of special education needs to children with disabilities between ages zero to six years.

The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, with funding from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

For the 2017/18 period, children with disabilities who are beneficiaries of the Early Stimulation Programme will be provided with additional rehabilitative physiotherapy sessions; psycho-educational support will be provided to 160 children with disabilities, while skills training for 150 persons with disabilities will be continued; parenting workshops will be delivered to parents of children with disabilities; assistive aids will be procured and a Public Education programme for Persons with Disabilities will be undertaken.

Up to December 2016 under the project, round one skills training interventions were completed which saw 200 persons with disabilities (PwDs) trained; 123 received employment for six months and 34 received permanent employment; the second round of skills training intervention began, which saw five consultant contracts signed in October 2015 for the provision of training of 190 persons with disabilities on PATH.

Other achievements include the provision of 79 assistive aids for children with disabilities on PATH; the development of a curriculum for parenting intervention programmes; improved readiness for school for 78 children with disabilities (CwDs), aged 0-6 years old in the Early Stimulation programme after receiving physiotherapy in Kingston and Portland; engaging 200 children, of which

60 are currently receiving consistent sessions; and the training of 139 parents of CwDs in speech therapy on how to cope with special needs children.

The project which started in April, 2013 was slated to end in August 2017 but has been extended to March 2018.