THE DURBAN North mother of a child with Down Syndrome (DS), took it upon herself to start an academy specifically for DS children, in the area. Liza Hall says that she found her son, Matthew (10), needed an education that considered his particular condition. “The idea for the academy is based on the need I found in the community, which is for a move away from a mainstream type of schooling for DS children,” Hall said.
With nothing but this idea, the mother of three spoke to Rev Jan Maré of the Durban North Baptist Church about using their facilities three weeks ago. Veteran educator, Sandy Drew and volunteer Alison Brown, are also part of the small team working together to start the SEAL Academy @Tap.
Hall, Drew and Maré say the academy will open on 2 May this year and will accommodate eight children with DS, from the age of six to 16 years. Hall said the children will be taught with methods that focus on their specific requirements needed to grow, emphasizing creativity and expression. “There will be more activities and less desk time . The environment will be encouraging a more active and engaging approach to social-emotional learning, that allows each child to be more expressive and have more fun doing it,” she added.
The SEAL Academy (which stands for Social Expressive Arts and Learning), the three say, will aim to get the learners involved with the community and expose them to people so that they can learn how to interact with society, but also so that the public will in turn also be exposed to people with DS and learn about the syndrome.
Contact Liza Hall at admin@thesealacademy.co.za.
