Special education, a noble achievement of the Cuban Revolution

Sensitivity and unconditional love for teaching are combined in the Antonio Suarez Dominguez special school in Camaguey, to contribute to the social inclusion of children with sensory impairments.

For more than 34 years, teacher Idelmis Lio Bisbe, who works in a classroom for children with low vision and profound hearing impairment, has dedicated herself to this admirable work.

The task is complex, she says, because it requires attending to the individual needs of each child, according to his or her diagnosis. For example, those with visual impairment require attention with telescopes or lecterns, and in the case of those with hearing impairment, we focus on air management or lip-facial reading.

Although this educator has had the opportunity to work at other educational levels, she says she feels a very strong connection with this teaching because it is the one that requires the most dedication, whether during classes, reviewing homework or following up on diagnoses.

With 32 years of experience, Libia Menendez Navarro teaches the subject of Visual Stimulation to blind and low vision students. From the earliest ages, she says, they are placed in the center based on the evaluation of the specialists in Ophthalmology, to teach them to use the visual rest they have.

To achieve this objective, she points out, the little ones begin to be attended in the early stimulation room and by means of optical and non-optical aids they learn to see with their glasses, and at the same time macrotypes are used for reading enlargement and color contrast is used to promote better vision.

As part of the education provided at this school, the children receive other subjects such as Braille reading and writing, daily living skills where they acquire basic tools to perform household chores and in other social scenarios, as well as orientation and mobility so they can move around in space and look for the most favorable position in their job.

 At the "Antonio Suarez Dominguez" school, she added, several complementary activities are also promoted with the purpose of compensating the special educational needs of the students in order to strengthen and enhance the right balance in their integral development.

The family plays a vital role in the success of learning. That is why parents participate with teachers and specialists in low vision consultations, where they are taught the techniques of cane use, the Braille reading and writing system, sensory perception, the use of colors and at the same time they are recommended bibliographies of support.

 We are very happy to see the children's progress during their transit through the institution. It is very gratifying to see how they arrive here without knowing how to move and, thanks to the classes and the treatment we give them, they are able to continue their studies at other levels of education, an achievement that, without a doubt, commits us to continue writing stories of profound tenderness every day," said Libia Menendez Navarro.

 This work of infinite love acquires a greater dimension when the obstacles imposed by the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States government on Cuba are overcome.

 This special school, according to its director Ibelsy Gonzalez Lopez, assists 34 children, including 16 deaf and hard of hearing and 18 with low vision. They face difficulties with hearing aids, since the necessary molds for their manufacture do not exist.

 On the other hand, she mentioned that for more than 15 years they have not benefited from Braille cards and the Braille machines are also deficient.

 However, alternatives are being used, he said, and it has been possible to use parts from some obsolete equipment to repair those that are currently working.

 In the midst of shortages and limitations, students like Yandiel Hernandez Guisao, a fifth-grader, learn the necessary knowledge for each school year, and with that naturalness that characterizes those of his age, he confesses that Mathematics is his favorite subject and that he loves his teacher Idelmis, for the care and affection she offers them.

Yudith Lopez Espinosa is one of the most notable achievements of special education in Cuba. She proudly talks about her performance in teaching Art Education, and how, after 12 years of graduating, she has already earned a Master's degree in Citizenship Education.

 I am immensely happy to teach at this center because I can teach blind children like me the skills they need to be included in society," she added.

 Here my work consists of helping them learn to sing, recite poetry, act in plays and support them in developing Braille literacy, with the motivation of seeing them grow and realize each of their dreams, which in some way are also ours, she noted.

When it comes to dreams, Yudith is not only satisfied in the work environment, when she gets home she finds the family she formed with her husband, who suffers from low vision, and her two daughters, one of them with the same diagnosis as her father. With them she shares not only life, but also the good will to do something more for her students every day.

 In a society where everyone counts and the right to education is free, universal and inclusive, special education is reaffirmed as one of the most humane and noble achievements of the Cuban Revolution.