10 October, 2017- Abu Dhabi
The Emirates College for Advanced Education (ECAD) and The New England Center for Children—Abdu Dhabi (NECC-AD) signed an appendix of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will see NECC-AD students enrolled in a training program at ECAE library during this month. These students will have the job title ‘Library Assistants’ and their duties will include distributing books and stationaries, computer data entry, re-shelving books and magazines, and identifying missing material. These students will work 2 hours per week.
The signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi was attended by Professor Robert Milne, Vice Chancellor of ECAE and Dr. Daniel Gould, Executive Director of NECC-AD. Other executives from NECC-AD and ECAE faculty and administrative staff were present during the ceremony.
The signing of this appendix of MoU reflects ECAE’s continuous desire to build fruitful and sustainable partnerships and it is in line with ECAE goal of providing community support. ECAE encourages all efforts to develop the abilities of individuals with autism to participate in various community activities through designing and implementing programs and initiatives to achieve this goal. Such endeavors will enhance the skills that these individuals with autism acquired in their rehabilitation and intervention centers through the provision of hands on trainings.
ECAE support of this program is crucial and it aligns with some of the objectives that the Applied Behavior Analysis program at ECAE aims for. Providing hands on training will increase the integration of individuals with autism with their community and will provide them with role models on how to learn new skills and when to use them. This program will give these individuals an opportunity to interact with ECAE students and therefore will help them improve their social and communication skills. Moreover, these individuals will add new life experiences that will help them integrate into their society in the future and will be an opportunity for these students to develop friendships with typically developing individuals.
This program comes after ECAE signed a MoU with NECC-AD in 2015 to enhance their collaboration in the areas of educational and research development and exchange of knowledge and academic expertise in the field of special education.
Professor Robert Milne expressed his pleasure and appreciation with this educational partnership between the two institutions. He stressed that this MoU is an essential step in ECAE and NECC-AD efforts to provide best rehabilitation services to individuals with autism. Prof Milne added that vocational training is an integral part of the process of rehabilitation in individuals with autism where a team from various specialties comes together to help individuals with autism reach their optimal level of functioning and satisfaction.
Dr. Daniel Gould, Executive Director of NECC-AD, expressed his happiness with this education partnership between the two institutions since it will support individuals with autism and help them improve their skills based on systematic and scientific strategies. He said: “these internships are a great opportunity for NECC-AD students to get valuable work experience to prepare them for the future. It is also an opportunity for the ECAE students to see firsthand the successes that result from effective ABA treatment. Finally, this represents another example of the productive collaboration between ECAE and NECC-AD that has contributed so much to both organizations over the years.”
It is noteworthy that preparation for the certification from the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) has been included in the courses available for BA students at ECAE. This certification is considered the gold standard for international programs of behavior analysis for individuals with autism and related disorders. This will enable ECAE students to develop their social and communication skills when working with these individuals.
ECAE is a specialized government college that was established in 2007 and is a partner of the Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi that strives for academic excellence and aims to provide the education sector with qualified and professional graduates through preparing and developing educational professionals in Abu Dhabi and UAE, and according to best educational standards and practices. ECAE provides many specialties and courses in its post graduate studies program and has specialized professional development through its research centers and continuing education centers that ensures the available of sustainable professional development to various education professionals.