مؤسسة الإمام الهادي للإعاقة السمعية والبصرية واضطرابات اللغة والتواصل

Imam Al-Hadi Foundation for Hearing and Visual Impairment, Language and Communication Disorders

As a contribution to the process of social and educational development, and in response to the urgent needs arising within society, the Al-Hadi Foundation for Hearing and Visual Disabilities and Speech and Communication Disorders was established to enable persons with disabilities to reach broad horizons and contribute to life with their minds and skills across various fields. The Foundation strives to promote independence, integration, dignity, equal opportunity, and respect for all.

Languages of instruction:

Arabic and English

The foundation includes four academic schools:

Al Noor School for the Blind:
Al-Raja School for the Deaf
Al Bayan School for Mental Retardation:
Bridges School for Autism:
Vocational School
A department dedicated to supporting students and monitoring their progress in various secondary schools and universities.

Opened in 1992 to accommodate deaf students and those with cochlear implants, it includes classes from kindergarten through ninth grade. It accepts students starting at the age of three, where they are trained in total communication methods (signs, pronunciation, and speech).

The teaching methodology is based on the educational methodology issued by the Center for Educational Research and Development in Lebanon, with the working team making some modifications to suit the abilities and needs of the deaf student

The school uses appropriate aids in the classroom, including personal hearing aids and cochlear implants. The school also adopts total communication technology (sign language, auditory-oral communication, pronunciation, etc.) in the educational process and trains teachers and parents on sign language and total communication. A specialized committee is working to develop sign language terminology used by deaf students, which in turn monitors the quality and effectiveness of individual hearing aids. The school has sought to develop communication technologies related to deaf students and cochlear implants by providing technological means and interactive whiteboards, and effective planning that takes into account all stages and is based on active methods (project-based learning, investigation, problem-solving, field trips, etc.), taking into account differences based on developmental skills, and discovering and developing talents and abilities (theater, drawing, exhibitions, competitions, etc.)

Opened in 1988, the school offers classes from kindergarten through ninth grade. It adopts the teaching methodology issued by the Center for Educational Research and Development in Lebanon, which the educational team adapts to meet the needs of blind and visually impaired students. Textbooks are printed in Braille for all students within the school.

In addition to the academic curriculum, the school develops the skills of blind students through mobility and transfer training programs, life skills and independence development programs, and a sensory skills program. It also provides speech, physical, and occupational therapy services, which, in some stages, are the basis for learning Braille.

It provides its students with a range of visual aids for the visually impaired, such as mobile magnifiers, fixed magnifiers, "circuit television," and handheld magnifiers. It also offers a range of resources and educational tools, including the Tiger program, which facilitates educational concepts such as mathematics, science, and geography. Al Noor School also includes an audio library and a Braille library for use in reading classes.

It was opened in 2000 to attract students with intellectual disabilities (mild, moderate, and severe), according to the comprehensive reference DCM5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition).

The school is divided into three sections: academic, preparatory (vocational preparation), and vocational workshops. Students are divided into classes based on their abilities, age groups, and performance levels. These sections offer a range of specialized educational services based on group planning based on students' performance levels and individual educational planning that takes into account individual differences when necessary.

The school offers a range of specialized therapeutic services, including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychological therapy, and social health counseling. The educational and rehabilitation process for students is supported by a range of therapeutic programs and techniques, such as ABA, COLOR FULL, sensory integration, compression jackets, Portage, sex education, and developmental skills, particularly daily living and independence skills.

Providing these educational and therapeutic services requires the work of a multidisciplinary team (administration, special education teachers, support teachers, language therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychotherapists, and social health counselors), parental involvement in educational and therapeutic plans, and the implementation of external medical and therapeutic consultations.

It also seeks to provide the latest digital equipment and tools, as well as therapeutic sensory educational tools, to ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the learning process, both in person and remotely, in addition to providing a nurturing and safe classroom environment for students, taking into account the necessary adaptations.

The Autism Spectrum Department was established in 2000 and accepts students from the age of three. This department aims to provide the best specialized educational and therapeutic services in the field of intervention with individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and to develop comprehensive and accurate individual plans.

Through this, the team seeks to develop all life skills: motor, communication, sensory, mental, cognitive, social, and pre-professional skills in the student (within classes and in individual and group sessions), using the latest therapeutic, educational, and academic programs (ABA- PECS- sensory integration), keeping up with everything new in the world of autism spectrum.

The vocational school was established in 2002, adopting programs issued by the Directorate of Vocational and Technical Education at the Ministry of Education. These programs included the following specializations: Sales and Business Relations for the Visually Impaired and Blind, Special Interior Design for Deaf Students, Hotel Production for the Technical Baccalaureate level, in addition to the BP Chef for the vocational supplementary level. We work continuously to meet the needs of our students who suffer from mental retardation and academic limitations by working to open a vocational training department to include the categories of women's grooming, hotel training, vocational workshops, and vocational preparation for students on the autism spectrum. The institution also works to communicate with the local community to work on finding job opportunities for students through the institution's integration and employment office.

Libraries at the Imam Al-Hadi Foundation for the Hearing and Visually Impaired

The Foundation includes three libraries, aiming to support the educational process and curriculum through its collection, which meets the needs of its beneficiaries and adapts its collection to suit its audience of special needs. It also instills a love of reading in students, develops their cultural habits, and discovers and nurtures their distinctive talents. It also encourages scientific research among students, develops their research capabilities, and introduces them to library use and research, enabling them to acquire the knowledge that will prepare them for university, which requires independent access to information.

اBeneficiaries:

: The library contains 4,674 electronically cataloged books, approximately 115 educational and entertainment CDs, a collection of story and song cassette tapes, and a section dedicated to special education and people with special needs.

The school library serves students at the three schools, Al Noor, Al Raja, and Al Bayan, as well as vocational students, teaching staff, administrative staff, specialists, secondary and university students with special needs who have been integrated into secondary and university education by the Foundation, and trainees at the Foundation.

The Foundation includes the Braille Library, a library whose collection exclusively contains books printed in Braille format for blind and visually impaired students, secondary and university students, as well as the teaching staff, especially for the Al Noor School for the Blind. The Braille Library includes approximately 3,500 volumes of school books, in addition to 150 general culture books and a collection of periodicals.

was opened, and its collection and services are available to blind and visually impaired students and non-visual students. It includes more than 220 titles of cultural audiobooks recorded on approximately 1,100 cassettes, in addition to audio periodicals and a collection of high school textbooks and university lectures recorded on cassettes.

Integration and Employment Department:

It is one of the institution's administrative departments. It was established in 1997 to serve students with special needs, including visual impairments, who pursue their studies in secondary schools, universities, and vocational schools alongside sighted students. This year, its scope of work has expanded to include deaf students who have been integrated into a vocational school.

Its mission is to provide close and continuous follow-up of these students and ensure they meet all their academic needs and requirements. It also welcomes volunteers to benefit from their academic and practical expertise, and seeks to employ blind and deaf graduates in local community institutions.

Educational Facilities:

Math Lab - Informatics Department - Informatics Lab for the Blind - Robotics Lab - Science Lab - Sensory-Motor Therapy Hall - Mental Health Department - Physical Therapy Hall - Occupational Therapy Hall - Brain Gym - Braille Printing Department

Special programs: