An interview with our Advisory Board Member

What’s your name? 

Dr Zakariya Absi 

What’s your job? 

Lecturer at the University of Essex 

What do you do at Dream The Change, CIC (DTC)? 

I am a Director at Dream The Change, and I am also a member of that great family as my daughter is a SEN child. 

How many children do you have? 

I have two children. 

Tell us about your daughter? (Name, age, needs etc). 

My daughter's name is Judy. She is 7-years-old. She was diagnosed with autism when she was 3-years-old. 

How has being involved with DTC helped you as a parent? 

Dream The Change has become like the extended family for Judy's nuclear family. Meeting the parents there who have similar circumstances make me feel part of a great community that is full of devotion, proud of dedication and is inspiring their education. Every time I meet other parents in the DTC family, I come to realise how lucky those children are to have such parents, to the extent that I feel very humbled by their level of education and support. I now believe that behind every SEN child, there is a great parent or great parents who never stop dreaming and working towards a bright future for their child. 

How has being involved with DTC helped your daughter? 

Judy has been able to mix and integrate with other children in similar conditions. She was also able to explore many different environments through the various indoor and outdoor activities organised by Dream The Change. The amount of support and advice we as parents have got from Dream The Change through the tea sessions, group discussions and expert-run talks have also had a great impact on Judy's progress. 

How has DTC helped the people who attend training, excursions, parent support group and activities? 

I dare say that every parent in the DTC family has become an uncertified expert when it comes to their child's special needs. The group discussions, the expert talks, and the workshops have offered an immense amount of information and have shown us tactics on how to best deal with children with special needs. Also, the fact that every parent has a different educational background meant that they had a lot to share in terms of life experience in general with other parents. 

How can DTC improve even more? 

I believe DTC are doing the best they can do. All they need to do is to keep their momentum and continue taking pride in themselves for the massive difference they are initiating in the minds and hearts of those children and their parents. 

What improvements would you like to see in SEND area in general? 

I would like to see more support from the government and local councils. It is not all about some extra money the parents can have to support their child. Every parent I have met would like to see faster services for that type of children. It is utterly unreasonable to have only a few community dentists or paediatricians in the area. The same applies for special schools. Children with special needs have to stand in a very long queue and go through tribunal before they get a place in a special school. The government services are far short of meeting the needs of those children. Again, it is not all about money, it is about services and services only. My daughter had to wait for months to get her appointment with the community dentist, and then we had to go the private route, which was extremely costly and complicated. 

How can outsiders help DTC? (Volunteering, sponsorship?) 

Outsiders can help by sponsoring events for these special needs kids. They can also help by volunteering if they can. The best support they can offer is by spreading awareness in the outside community and reaching out to seek more resources for those children. 

Is there any other comment you would like to make? 

I would encourage DTC to keep an open and innovative mind at all times in order to be able to stay in the lead as they have always been, and be able to help more and more children.