Abu Dhabi reveals how society is becoming more inclusive for the determined

“Since its launch, the strategy has been a paradigm shift in the inclusion and empowerment of determined people, and a model of integrated public and private sector efforts to provide them with an inclusive and enabling environment. In fact, Abu Dhabi has been keen to provide a An inclusive environment where people of determination have equitable access to services, opportunities and rights. We look forward to achieving additional milestones and further expanding and strengthening our partnership with all entities to ensure effective implementation of Abu Dhabi’s determined people strategy,” said Dr Al Khaili.

The enabler pillar of DCD’s strategic governance model is fully activated with 13 key government entities to ensure strategic engagement and oversight.

In 2021, a total of 16 government entities will be trained on developing policies and programs that incorporate PODs, while in 2022, 30 government entities will be trained on inclusive data for the inclusion of PODs as part of statistics and indicators.

Finally, DCD designed assisted living services to roll out these services to enable adults with POD to live as autonomously as possible, and to begin developing policies to protect POD from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and discrimination.

The Employment Task Force, led by the Abu Dhabi Human Resources Authority, has achieved many accomplishments over the past two years. These include developing an inclusive employment policy for PODs in the emirate and incorporating POD employment journeys into the Job Placement Centre. Launch of the Resolved Colleagues programme, a disability awareness programme for government employees in Abu Dhabi and how to handle and support their Resolved colleagues in the work environment, targeting 68 government entities.

Led by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek), the Education Pillar has launched the Empower Inclusion Training platform to provide educators with professional development opportunities on inclusion topics. A total of 24 webinars were held.

Adek also developed an inclusion policy, framework and guidebook for schools and launched a policy and system to support the provision of in-school professional services and therapy for school children.

An autism inclusion project was established in which 46 children transitioned from specialized schools to mainstream schools and received support. An autism resource base has also been established to support autistic students in mainstream schools, while two specialist classes have been opened in charter schools serving 20 students.

The Al Karamah Training Academy has also been opened to provide young people with autism with vocational training and employment-specific skills and support their transition from school to employment. There are currently 48 students.

The Health and Rehabilitation Pillar, led by the Department of Health (DoH) and the Early Childhood Education Authority (ECA), has designed an assessment framework for people with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders and learning disabilities.

The ECA developed the Integrated Early Childhood Intervention System Framework to ensure comprehensive multidisciplinary support and services for children with disabilities or developmental delays, including 19 recommended initiatives to enable a future integrated early childhood intervention system. Five pilot projects were carried out, including the development of the Abu Dhabi Early Intervention Guide to help parents and carers find the information they need in the early fields.

The Social Care Pillar, led by ZHO, completed the Abu Dhabi POD’s database to record all data and information to help the agency plan POD services. It also published the Abu Dhabi Disability Classification Guidelines – Third Edition based on the National Harmonized Disability Classification and disseminated it among entities.

ZHO has designed a smart app for early detection of stunted children, with 1,859 stunted children documented by 2022. This will help ensure early intervention for children.

The entity also organized a 3D printing workshop and employed eight people with intellectual disabilities. They went on to produce 3,680 items.

10 commercial licenses have been issued for POD to facilitate participation in “Matjery”, a virtual marketplace for productive households. Using the latest technology and artificial intelligence, a prosthetic studio has also been established. A “Hemam” or definitive service has also been launched for POD families’ counselling, and as of July 2022, 9,250 psychological and social counselling sessions have been provided to POD families.

Several other initiatives were launched in April 2021, such as the launch of the POD Sensory Room project. These sensory rooms have been installed in shopping malls and key areas in Abu Dhabi to provide safe spaces for PODs in public places such as malls and airports.

ZHO has also launched the ATMAH vocational training and employment transition project in cooperation with its partners. A total of 25 people with cognitive disabilities completed a 12-month internship program with the aim of securing a permanent job.

The Department of Municipal and Transport (DMT) has launched a total of 17 inclusive parks in Al Ain to promote social inclusion for PODs and their families.In addition, DMT has improved accessibility standards in various areas, including residential building redesign, fire risk protection standards, public realm design, community facility planning standards, and mosque development regulations in accordance with the UAE Universal Design Code

The Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) has completed an accessibility audit and assessment of 25 sports clubs and is working to improve the accessibility of 12 sports clubs for the first phase of inclusivity. In addition, 213 PODs participated by ADSC. It also hosted nine advocacy workshops aimed at raising awareness of healthy lifestyles and physical activity among POD athletes, coaches, supervisors and parents.

The Abu Dhabi Housing Authority (ADHA) provides Mustasharik services to support PODs in identifying needs and reviewing housing design plans. Customer service staff are trained to interact with PODs with hearing impairments, and PODs’ Priority Helpline ensures a seamless and responsive ADSA call center. Additionally, ADHA updated the current Residential Communities Handbook to include a code that takes into account the physical disability needs of PODs and implemented capital housing programs accordingly. PODs also received the benefits of the housing package in 2021 and 2022, with 662 PODs from Abu Dhabi receiving housing loans and 158 receiving residential land grants.

The Capital Housing Project was launched based on the first draft of the first edition of the Al Dhafra District Residential Community Guidelines. In 2021, the Al Mughira housing project was implemented. Under this project, 410 dwellings were provided for POD. The Sweihan housing project will be implemented in 2022, of which 204 housing units will be provided to POD. In addition, the Al Falah project will provide 899 enclosures for POD.

The Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) has launched a study at these locations to increase accessibility by identifying gaps and improving plans. Libraries across the emirate have undertaken more than 30 POD projects involving 882 people.

The Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) has developed standards and guidelines for accessing government websites and TAMM platforms. ADDA also completed POD Empower, which includes key services provided to POD from different government entities through a unified digital experience on TAMM.

Abu Dhabi Airports has developed the infrastructure at Abu Dhabi International Airport to include PODs with autism, and Etihad flights are prioritizing travel using PODs. In addition, dedicated counters and smart doors have been installed to guide POD passenger departure and baggage inspection.

At the same time, AD Ports Group is also working to ensure an inclusive maritime offering at PODs at Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal – Port Zayed, Sir Baniyas Cruise Beach (Western Region) and Marsa Mina’s Terminals 1 and 2 travel experience.