Dina Abdel Wahab

Dina Abdel Wahab is pioneering school-based integration of special-needs and normal children -a first important step toward achieving society-wide integration.

In Egyptian society, as in many societies, brain and genetic disorders are not well understood by the public. People who have, for example, autism or a severe learning disability are shunned, pushed to society's margins, and written off as burdensome to families and society. Faulty public perception, shaped by ignorance and misunderstanding, is the condemning factor that underlies all others. Dina, the mother of a five-year-old with Down's syndrome, sees that to change attitudes and pave the way for societal reform, children are the place to start. In fact, the early preschool years offer an especially promising opportunity to realize important advances in societal integration by setting a different expectation of normalcy early on. This insight has led to the first of what Dina hopes will be a regional network of preschools that prioritize the integration of children with special needs and children without them. Now in its third year, the inaugural school offers a stimulating environment for all children to learn together, play together, and develop friendships. Furthermore, the adults in the picture–teachers and parents–learn to see special needs in a far more tolerant light. Having demonstrated success with her first school, Dina plans to introduce school-based integration of children with special needs throughout the Middle East and, with other parents and supporters, influence public policy and opinion through advocacy and education.