Parents are often the best tutors, especially for children living with disabilities.

Child Welfare South Africa Zamokuhle, the mother body of Ithuteng Stimulation Centre and Vuyelwa Crèche in Mashishing, has started an initiative to educate parents with disabled children.

Lilian Segoana, committee member and founder of Child Welfare South Africa Zamokuhle says the centre was opened 25 years ago and accommodates children with physical and mental disabilities.

This took place because community members had seen the need to provide a place at which these youngsters could be stimulated and interact with others, she explained.

The school is divided into two; Ithuteng is open to pupils with cerebral palsy and those who are physically and mentally disabled, while Vuyelwa is for those who have no disabilities.

Parents can play a vital role in their training and development.

“They are considered leading mentors for children in their early life as well as later life. Parents can be involved in any aspect of education and training of their children,”she adds.

Segoana says that they saw the need for parents to have guidance on how to care for their children.

“It will be a six-week training programme and parents will be fully equipped with all the steps to follow when living with a child with disability,” she adds. Parents are trained every Monday for six weeks by professionals at Lydenburg Provincial Hospital.

Initial meetings will also help to develop the teaching plan at home.
“Some parents prefer to keep their children at home and take care of them.

We want to help them learn the professional techniques to avoid creating other problems,” says Segoana.

Some families choose to train their children before they send them to the necessary facilities, and some hide them at home.

“We urge all parents to stop hiding their children and bring them to us so that they may interact with others and be stimulated,” she pleads.