Palestinian Child Institute/ An-Najah National University

The Palestinian Child Institute was established in 2014 as a programmatic response to the phenomenon of increasing number of children suffering from various developmental difficulties, specifically the autism spectrum disorder. Diagnostic and rehabilitation services within a multidisciplinary team formed the main focus and area of strength of the institute’s work in the field of developmental disorders. The mandate and area of work expands through national partnership with institutions working in this field led towards awareness raising, early detection, diagnosis and rehabilitation, as well as inclusion.

The Montessori kindergarten run by the institute constitutes a special example of a high quality ECD setting that offers creative, individually oriented and learning through play methods to all children. The kindergarten also represents a successful example of integrated approach with other early detection, rehabilitation and inclusion efforts.  

As a result of continued programmatic growth during the recent years, the Palestinian Child Institute now includes a set of departments and programs that focus on the concept of early childhood development within its broad and holistic framework, and is not limited to dealing with developmental difficulties.

Training and research programs at the palestinan child institute allows for building the national capacity in the areas of ECD and developmental disorders within the theoretical and practical frames. 

The Palestinian Child Institute is a member of the international network of ECD and the international early Childhood Peace consortium, where the institute contyributes to program development, research and advocacy for the Palestinian children and all children affected by armed conflict.

Mission and Vision:

Vision: The Palestinian Child Institute aspires to have all Palestinian Children live healthy life, full of care and love enabling them achieve their full potential.

Mission: The Palestinian Child Institute family commits itself to working in partnership and synergy with all partners towards realization of the national ECD strategy.

Areas of work:

  1. Service provision:

Within this area, the institute hosts a services department consisting of three major sections: diagnostic services throughout clinics, Rehabilitation classes following the REACH approach and inclusive kindergarten deploying Montessori approach. All sections work in complementarity to support early detection of developmental disorders using latest evidence in testing, multidisciplinary rehabilitation services covering sensory, motoric, cognitive, learning and social domains.

Inclusion forms a clear area of interest and practice as after rehabilitation, children are included into the inclusive kindergarten or into other ECD or school facilities. Follow up of cases within the host facility is conducted through the outreach program. 

Below is a more description of the institute sections:

  1.  Clinics section includes: Occupational therapy, Speech therapy, Special Education, Clinical psychology and Family care unit.

    Specialized staff within the clinics section receives referred or self-referred children with identified developmental challenge and offers testing, diagnostic and treatment services. The team of experts within the clinics works in harmony in review, discuss and agree on diagnosis and appropriate rehabilitation plan for each case. The clinic section provides rehabilitation services in the form of individual, small group and child and family counseling.

    The family care unit is a newly established one aiming at supporting families playing an active role in the rehabilitation of the child. In addition to working with children with developmental disorders and autism, the unit expanded its work to include work with thalassemia children and their families, children with visual disabilities and multiple disabilities.

  2. Rehabilitation Classes Section aims to work with autistic children in ages between 3 to 10 years old. It is equipped with necessary means to develop the skills of children that prepare them for inclusion (academic inclusion, vocational inclusion, or social inclusion).

    Classes in the section are divided depending on the child's ability (functionality) ranging from low, moderate to high level in ADLs, pre-academic and cognitive abilities. 

    There are two basic systems used within the classes (TEACHH and PECS systems). Also, every child has his\her own Individual Educational Plan (IEP) which contains the goals that the child and his parents should work to achieve within a defined time of six months. And that relates to our belief in the importance of parents` role in the rehabilitation process of their children and their progress.

  3. Montessori Kindergarten seeks to create stimulating and carefully planned learning environments so that children can develop the habits and skills conducive to wellbeing, cognitive and social development. Montessori early childhood education curriculum is aimed at: 

  • Enhancing the desire for education and exploration. 
  • The education of the children is in line with the nature of the child and his abilities, away from just teaching and feeding him with knowledge and facts.
  • The child benefits from the services that are provided in the Institutes clinics if they need them. 
  • Include the children with special needs. In this particular domain, the kindergarten serves as an inclusive facility receiving children after completing their rehabilitation period.

Training: 

In this domain, the Palestinian Child Institute offers a variety of training programs and provides a practical training venue for Palestinian Universities (American, Al-Quds and Najah University). As a leading specialized institute, the Palestinian Child institute offers training programs in the following areas:

  1. ECD practice training: 150 contact hours diploma on ECD targeting ECD practitioners. Training consists of theoretical and practical training aiming to provide participants with basic knowledge and skills for ECD within the Palestinian context.
  2. Child development: 20 hours training program aiming at providing participants with the knowledge on normal child development and enabling early detection of abnormalities. This training targets school teachers, ECD practitioners and University students.
  3. Portage: 25 hours training course on the use of portage as a screening and basic detection tool for developmental delays targeting a specialized group of ECD practitioners.
  4. Shadow teacher training: 30 hours training targeting special education teachers, school teachers and other graduates from relevant disciplines aiming at building the capacity of participants in caring for a child with developmental disorders within the educational setting.

Work with communities:

The Palestinian Child Institute works with parents, community organizations and families in promoting positive child development environment. Through working with partner organizations, governmental and non-governmental organizations, the institute works on raising awareness about the importance of positive parenting, the need to create inclusive environments for children with developmental disorders and tries through working with schools to improve the quality of ECD programs and inclusion practices.

Partnership:

The Palestinian Child Institute has a rich network of partnership at three levels:

  1. Cooperation and partnership with other faculties at An-Najah National University such as the faculty of Education, psychology and medicine. This thematic partnership allows the institute to enrich its programs and deepen its knowledge and practice in respective areas.
  2. Partnership with national and international organizations working in Palestine. The Institute enjoys a rich working relationship with ECD partners in the country enabling active exchange of programs and expertise. Namely, the institute has active work relations with three Universities (Arab American of Palestine, Al-Quds and Al-Quds Open), MOUs with Juzoor, Thalassemia society, BASR, World Vision and is an active member in the national committee on ECD, ECD thematic group and ECD coalition. The Institute has an active working relationship with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Health.
  3. At the international level, the institute has an international advisory board consisting of the lead ECD organizations and ECD networks globally. It is a member of the Early Childhood Peace Consortium and the international network on peace building for young children on which it sits on the executive board. The Palestinian Child Institute has an active MOU with Early Years, the organization for young children in Ireland and Queen`s University in Belfast. It also has a working agreement with CARE international addressing children from poor families.

Logo:

The Institute's logo symbolizes the fact that the child is at the center of attention, as it represents the children who are accompanied by their mother and father, because what the Institute cares about is the family in general and in its center, the child.

Contact Information:

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: pci000

Telephone: 09/2352570

Intuition website link:

pci.najah.edu/ar‏