PETALING JAYA, Taarana School, an education centre for children with learning disabilities, plans to expand its operation to accommodate more students and provide more skills training in the next three years.

The school, managed by RYTHM Foundation, a corporate social responsibility arm of the QI Group of Companies, presently has 23 neurodiverse students aged four to 18 attending its day school on weekdays under the supervision of 13 teachers and therapists.

Head of RYTHM Foundation Santhi Periasamy said Taarana had identified several locations as its new site as per the expansion plan.

“The expansion will include more skills training for the students, including pre-vocational classes so that the students will be able to manage themselves and be financially independent,” she told reporters when met at the school’s family day and Christmas celebration here recently.

Santhi said that, in the long term, Taarana aims to acquire the best facilities among the special education schools in the Klang Valley.

Taarana School principal Dr Sunitha Sivakumaran said Taarana, which means awakening in Sanskrit, was established in 2011 to address the urgent need for resources and support for children with developmental disabilities and their families.

Some Taarana students have been able to work in cafes while others continued their vocational skills training after they left school, she said.

Some personalised programmes available in Taarana are speech and occupational therapy and various living skills.

Parents of children with learning disabilities are welcome to call the school at 03-78567207/8207 for information or to arrange a visit.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency