​The Shafallah Center for Persons with Disabilities, organized under the umbrella of the Qatar Foundation for Social Work, organized a joint virtual symposium on the importance of digital applications in serving people with disabilities and their families, in cooperation with the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, in light of the continued precautionary measures and procedures to limit the spread of the Corona virus in the State of Qatar and other countries. the world.

The General Advisor for Strategic Planning and Quality Affairs, Dr. Hisham Al-Makanin Al-Ajarma, the General Advisor for Educational Services, Professor Dr. Naji Al-Saaida, and the psychologist and researcher at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Dr. Doaa Al-Adwan, spoke at the symposium. A number of specialists and families interested in people with disabilities also participated in the symposium. .

Dr. Hisham Al-Makanin Al-Ajarma spoke about the new digital applications in serving people with disabilities and their families, especially in light of the Corona crisis, and stressed the importance of investing in them to sustain the education and training of people with disabilities. He said: “The growing calls for the necessity of working remotely, ensuring the performance of tasks, and the necessity of sustaining the journey of life in all its fields.” Various applications, especially educational ones, require everyone to work with these applications and interact with their various electronic platforms, as they are no longer an option in light of the continuing pandemic, but rather a necessity that requires rooting.” He also pointed out “the necessity of investing in information and communication technology and means of digital access to unleash the latent capabilities of people with disabilities.” And to help them achieve independence and self-reliance, as well as to help them receive comprehensive care services and educational, health, social and rehabilitative services for themselves and the families requesting these services, in addition to support services and receiving consultations and awareness of the issues of persons with disabilities.”

Dr. Al-Ajarma, in turn, drew attention to the fact that the use of digital applications to serve people with disabilities and their families is not surprising or objectionable. Its use depends on various variables, the most important of which are the type and degree of disability, the level of training provided, the amount of support accompanying use, and the nature of the content provided. To ensure effective investment in these applications, Dr. Al-Ajarma called for the necessity of having conviction, will, and possessing the necessary skills in use, and following the methodology of trying and experimenting to reach the desired practice. The desired benefit, if not achieved by people with disabilities themselves, can be achieved for their families, especially since they are partners in the process of educating and rehabilitating people with disabilities.

For his part, Professor Dr. Naji Al-Saaida explained the importance of using digital applications in educational empowerment, implementing the individual educational plan, implementing speech therapy training, occupational therapy, physical therapy, sports skills, and daily life, communication and social skills. He in turn called for the necessity of investing in everything that would support people with disabilities. Disabilities and their families in all educational aspects because of its positive repercussions on the level of capabilities of people with disabilities and their empowerment and the empowerment of their families.

While Dr. Doaa Al-Adwan spoke about the benefits of digital applications if they are controlled and organized and their role in the psychological empowerment of people with disabilities and their families, she pointed out that using these applications helps a lot in distracting thinking about the repercussions of the Corona virus and alleviating the accompanying feelings of anxiety, depression and anger, in addition to continuity in achievement, learning and productivity. Especially since many digital applications include attractive elements that can be used to establish mental health and enable a feeling of well-being, it provided a set of general advice for families whose members include people with disabilities.

At the conclusion of the symposium, the participants in the symposium put forward a set of recommendations, the most important of which is the necessity of turning to digital education and not being satisfied with traditional education systems, and disseminating work and remote communication techniques and activating them in educating and training people with disabilities and supporting their families. The participants also noted the importance of taking into account the changing roles and responsibilities of teachers, specialists and educators. In the digital context, in addition to working to provide a comprehensive vision and integrated environment that ensures achieving the goals of investing in digital applications in empowering people with disabilities and supporting their families in the psychological, educational and social aspects.