Maharat Learning Centre: Dealing with autism

Dr. Hibah Shata established Maharat Learning Centre to provide children with developmental delays the right tools for growth

Dr. Hibah Shata is the CEO of Maharat Learning Center. She is a dentist from Saudi Arabia who worked as a consultant for the National Guard. When she got married, she moved to Dubai in 2000 and established her first business, a dental clinic, in 2001. She was blessed with two sons, and in 2005, she had her first daughter.
"When Sarah was born, she was a typical beautiful child, but I noticed that she was a bit different from her siblings as she did not speak or listen. I spoke to her paediatrician about this, and he advised me to take her for an assessment," recollects Hibah in an interview with Khaleej Times.
"For her first assessment, we went to an audiologist to see if she had a problem with her hearing. Her hearing turned out to be fine, and I was referred to a psychologist to see if she had autism. The psychologist recognised that she had signs of autism, but as, at the time, she was too young, they were not definitive.
"He advised me to get her into speech therapy, occupational therapy and find her a nursery. Looking for these services were hectic as there were many children on waiting lists and most services were being offered to children above the age of three," Hibah adds.
Devastated by the lack of services, Hibah had tough decisions to take - to either leave the country to seek services in North America or stay here and do something about it herself.
In her search for help for her daughter, she met another mother who also shared the same struggles as she did and together they came up with the idea to start a business to provide the services that were not available in the country.
Hibah explains: "Together, we came up with a business plan and presented our business to a large US-based organisation that provided services to children with autism. And with their help, we launched the Child Early Intervention Medical Centre in March 2008.
"In 2010, I launched the Child Learning and Enrichment Medical Centre, an alternative education centre that mimics a typical elementary school classroom with a student-to-teacher ratio of 2:1."
By 2016 Hibah established Maharat Learning Centre, equipped with the latest technology to provide children with developmental delays and autism the required tools and support that they need to succeed in mainstream education. She officially opened it in 2017.
The centre offers evidence-based programmes utilising Applied Behavioural Analysis techniques to help children develop the necessary skills to access schools in 1:1 ratio.

"Once in school, we support them to succeed through our team supervision, providing them with the learning support and after-school tutoring and for those who cannot access schools, we have designed the Maharat Learning Academy utilising the British Modified Curriculum and ASDAN life skills. 
For young adults aged 16-25, we offer life skills, Pre-vocational and Vocational programmes and help them find the right job and succeed at work. We provide teachers professional training and support them with the development of the individual education plan and behavioural support plans."
Maharat works with children of any age at schools/nurseries and young adults up to the age of 25, younger kids and those who don't attend nurseries, yet benefit from its services at the Early Intervention Center.

Elaborating on the costs involved in such specialised care, Hibah says: "Our prices are reasonable and affordable by most families. Unfortunately, children need many hours, up to 40 hours per week, which makes it very expensive and most insurance providers don't cover these services.

"We've created many models and many offers to suit the different needs of different families. We also provide programmes for parents to implement with their kids at home, so they become their therapists to reduce the cost."
This is her advice to mothers with autistic children: "My advice for every mother is not to quit believing in her child's abilities. They learn a new skill every day. Mothers need to understand the functions of their behaviour and learn how to manage them at home.

"Parents need to learn how to communicate with their children whether they are verbal or non-verbal, teaching becomes much easier once these two are mastered."
Hibah confirms that she has learnt from her experiences. "My daughter taught me a lot. I learnt that patience is a skill that you master with time. I learnt that every milestone you achieve would bring new aspirations and new goals.

"I learnt how to appreciate small things in life that people take for granted. I learnt how to enjoy little achievements at a time. I learnt how to value effort and time, and I found that learning answers many questions and it never stops."
On the occasion of Autism Awareness month, Hibah would like to thank the UAE for the efforts and the support the nation offers to families and children of determination.

She is thankful to the President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for their vision and the strategies to make Dubai an inclusive city by 2020.
 -suchitra@khaleejtimes.com

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