Anthos House, a subsidiary of Greensprings School, has called on both private and public sectors in Nigeria to invest in infrastructure to provide inclusive education for children with special needs.
They argued that children with special needs if given the appropriate environment to flourish can be very valuable to society.
Lai Koiki, the executive director, Greensprings School says it is important to allow special needs children to have some form of inclusive education, adding that there is no reason for families with special needs children to be ashamed.
Koiki while speaking at the first anniversary of Anthos House, described the one-year journey of Anthos House as amazing.
“I must say that the special needs journey is almost as old as the journey of Greensprings School. This is because we believe we are all special in one way or the other”, Koiki said.
She further said that over 30 years ago, the management started a special needs unit in Greensprings known as learning support; this initiative was born out of the necessity for children to have the opportunity to socialize.
According to Koiki, “Anthos House has now grown out of the vision, we had about 35 years ago, and it is positioned to provide older children with a pathway for independence, self-management and the high possibility of experiencing work and life”.
Kimberley Scollard, Head of School at Anthos House pointed out that in the past year, the school has continued to facilitate its students to be more independent.
Scollard opines that besides academics, the utmost aim of the school is to ensure that students gain necessary life skills such as cooking, shopping, and the ability to take care of themselves.
Anthos House as a special needs school in Lagos accommodates students aged from 10 to 17 years with Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, ADHD and other learning difficulties.
A parent at the event, Angela Emuwa, expressed her happiness about how things are going in the school.
She said;
“I am very excited about the progress Anthos House has made within a short period of one year. When we joined, the school was still under construction. But today, I am happy with what I am seeing, most especially with the school’s focus on improving the life and entrepreneur skills of the students.”
