Sharing Good Practice
A conversation with Shereen Al Nowais
CEO and Founder of Ta ' leem Training and SkillS Development Center
By Lisa Fatimah in operating their own businesses or schools ?
My best advice is to be committed to your dreams and passions . My passion to help others has allowed me to accomplish success with TTSDC . I ’ ve helped my son to become a successful young man in overcoming dyslexia . I am now able to help my country to become aware of the symptoms of learning disabilities . I am dedicated and passionate in my stance to continue to promote awareness in the UAE . I have always wanted to study education . However , the major was not available at the university where I enrolled . Now , I am planning to study for my Masters degree and Ph . D . in special education .
The Ta ' leem Training and Skills Development Center ( TTSDC ) is located in the busy Al Nahyan Camp area of Abu Dhabi . At its head , is Emirati mother , educator and CEO , Mrs Shereen Al-Nowais , a dynamic force , whose petite size and gentle nature belie her purpose , passion , strength and resoluteness .
The TTSDC is young , strong , growing and serving a magnanimous purpose .
What motivated you to open the TTSDC ?
I started Ta ’ leem because I have a son who suffered from dyslexia . I wanted to offer the same assessment and intervention strategies to overcome learning disabilities that were offered to my son in the USA . After educating myself about the learning disabilities , which affected my own son , I decided to open up the Ta ’ leem Centre in the UAE , in 2013 . My aim was to help other children and adults living with learning disabilities in my own country . I attribute my success to my family , who have continuously supported me and to my team , who work hard to support the children and adults living with learning disabilities every day . My son , Mohamed , is my biggest inspiration . Without him , I couldn ’ t help kids or mothers . My short-term goals are to have a centre in each emirate during the coming 2 years . My long-term goals are to expand the support to have specialized nursery school for Learning Disabilities and a local research centre for LD .
What have been your biggest challenges and rewards ?
The greatest lessons I learnt from my son firstly ; are perseverance , resilience , patience and courage . From the students / parents , I learnt hope , to resist failure and to strive for success . As the only learning disability centre in the UAE , our goal is to act as a role model and an awareness centre for the entire country . There are too many citizens in the UAE who are not aware of learning disabilities . Parents are in denial , shy and lack knowledge . Marriage between relatives is high , and this is a big factor that may increase the cases of dyslexia . Our goal is to educate them and to help them utilize the strategies needed to overcome the problem in order to live successful and productive lives .
What would you like the people of the UAE to know about Dyslexia ?
Identifying the learning disability at an early age is the game changer . If it is recognized in a young child , that child will not have to suffer throughout the entire years of his / her education . Once assessment is completed and the problem is identified , then the child can move forward with intervention strategies to help him / her become successful academically and later in life as an adult .
What advice would you give to Emirati women interested
To learn more about the work being done at TTSDC : Visit their website .
http :// taleemcentre . com / en /
12 | Mar - Apr 2017 | | Class Time