The Community Service and Environmental Development Sector at the Faculty of Arts at Ain Shams University organized a symposium entitled: “Awareness of the Rights of People with Disabilities in Education and Community Integration” on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, under the patronage of Prof. Ghada Farouk, Vice President of Ain Shams University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty, under the supervision of Prof. Hanan Muhammad Salem, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, expressed her gratitude to the Faculty administration headed by Dr. Hanan Kamel for the support it provides to people with special needs.

She said that it seems clear from my experience of more than 25 years in the Sociology Department, which includes the largest number of integration students, that they have a great ability to export positive energy that is reflected in our safety, as well as their remarkable ability to give, and an amazing ability to communicate effectively and demonstrate skills.

The lecturer was also presented by Dr. Mahmoud Fouad, Director of the Progress Center of the Egyptian Association for the Advancement of Persons with Disabilities and Autism, who has enjoyed remarkable genius since he was a student at the university until he obtained his doctorate with distinction and first-class honors and a recommendation for exchange between universities. She also praised his excellence in the scientific and practical fields and on the humanitarian level. Dr. Mahmoud, in turn, recounted the history of his work in the association, and his fears of entering this field at the beginning. This fear turned into a growing desire to provide them with all the support for their advancement and advancement and to change people’s perception of them. He began the symposium with a very important question, which is: Imagine yourself as having a disability, how? Do you like people to treat you?

He showed scenes from films summarizing the suffering that people with disabilities face in dealing with able-bodied people, because many people do not have social ability and intelligence.

He also reviewed several related concepts, including: the definition of disability, the person with a disability, the concept of integration, and the state’s efforts to contain this category and integrate it with all segments of society.

He also presented several numerical facts about disability, including that there is one person with a disability out of 15 people. He also mentioned that there are more than 500 disabilities. He also shed light on the types of disability, which include visual, hearing, and mental disabilities, which demonstrate a severe deficiency in education. Automatic decision making.

Intellectual disability is one of the most difficult disabilities for those around the person with the disability to deal with and live with.

He also explained that there are many celebrities and creative people who have disabilities, and it did not affect their creative process.

The lecturer also shed light on how to deal with people with disabilities and the etiquette of dealing with them, the most important of which are: simplifying playing with him, not looking closely at him, and the importance of helping him after asking for his permission and avoiding imposing intrusion on him, encouraging him with a smile, taking into account the individual differences between him and his peers in the club, and not comparing him with his peers. It is healthy to play with him and befriend him because he enjoys this closeness.

As stated by Prof. Mona Hafez, Professor of Sociology, made an intervention in response to the scientific material presented in the lecture. She praised the lecturer, who is one of her students, and said that she holds dialogues and deliberately includes students with disabilities, listening to them and listening to their talents. She explained that she discovers them through their interaction with her in the lecture; They possess social intelligence, excel, and obtain medals and positions in various fields, including art, science, and sports of all kinds. We have honorable models who were able to advance themselves thanks to the support of the family in the first place, the college, and the university.

The lecturer also answered the audience's questions regarding the signs of autism and autistic disorder, and what indicates loss of communication, which requires rehabilitation and not treatment because autism has no cure.

On the sidelines of the symposium, an exhibition of handicrafts for the association’s members with disabilities was held. The exhibits, handicrafts, and accessories were characterized by extreme precision and craftsmanship in execution.

At the end of the symposium, Prof. Hanan Muhammad Salem honoring Dr. Mahmoud Fouad for his efforts in serving people with disabilities.