TESTIMONIES
“After two years and a half of occupational therapy, my daughter improved beyond my expectations as a mother. She is now more able to stay focused and maintain eye contact, as well as eat and use the toilet independently. The best achievement of all was the improvement in her ability to talk and show affection to members of the family. I am grateful to Al-Masar administration and staff for their efforts, and for excelling in their diagnosis of my daughter, the treatment they administered, and their follow up with her.” Lara Aref
“Al -Masar is a special place with special staff for our very special jewels. I can't imagine how our life would be without Al-Masar. The staff is very professional, understanding and humane. What more would a family with a special needs kid ask for? Thank you all for being here for us and with us.” Ahmed Hussein
"Our greatest of thanks for your staff and its support of our family. We are grateful to God for His provision of such a facility in the Middle East. You are to be commended on your forward thinking and servant hearts". Pam Simmons
A message from Ali’s parents
In the year 2009, I moved with my family from Vienna-Austria to live in Jordan. My son Ali suffered from Autism, but I was fortunate to find Al-Masar which is specialized in child development. I noticed great improvement in Ali’s communication with other members of the family and people outside the family. In my opinion, the reason for Ali’s progress was due to Al-Masar efforts ever since he was enrolled at the center. The approach to Ali by the staff stemmed from considering him as their own child and so was surrounded with love and care as well as provided with professional attention.
I appreciate all the efforts of Al-Masar staff in the Early Intervention program and later at the school, for Ali has moved from one efficient department into another.
A message from Munib’s parents
My experience with Al-Masar is special, unique and thank God has been all that I can ask for. I am a mother of three children, Muneib is my youngest. He is loved, kindly spoilt by all and is always happy with a smile on his face.
During early kindergarten, I never noticed any problems with Muneib except for the way he held the pencil and his hand movement while cutting and writing. His teacher used to tell me that Muneib had a short attention span and never followed directions (presumably because he was “so spoilt”).
When Muneib finished the second grade, he had difficulties reading and writing; his skills were that of an early first grader. That’s when I approached Al-Masar for a solution. I was worried and tired but I felt safe after I had explained my anxieties and felt their support personally and professionally.
For a year and a half, Muneib had two weekly sessions at Al-Masar. These sessions were sufficient to put him back on track and his skills were compatible with those of his classmates. He has also gained confidence and is now participating in school celebrations and assemblies.
Beyond academics, it brought me great pleasure to see Muneib run towards Al-Masar’s main entrance happy to see his teacher. Feedback was also provided from the staff when I picked him up, extra homework was set and reinforcers were always available.
The relationship between staff, students and parents were warm. Whenever Al-Masar comes to mind, I only feel gratitude for everyone there. We are continuously in touch with the staff! Why wouldn’t we be when they are the most efficient in the field of learning difficulties?
A message from Joseph’s parents
We have never regretted our move to Jordan and a big part of it is because we found the therapists and teachers at Al-Masar who worked very hard to give our autistic son Jo hopes for a better future. Jo, now 4 years old, has come a long way since he started going to Al-Masar two years ago. It is so nice to see him developing in every area – speech, occupational and academically.
When we first came to Amman, Al-Masar admitted him immediately into the Early Intervention Program and the teachers treated him in such a wonderful way that he could not wait to get on the morning bus to go to his favorite school. For the first year, he was going to Al-Masar every day in the morning for the Early Intervention Program and had therapy in the afternoon – with such an intense program he was ready to be mainstreamed in one year.
The teachers at Al-Masar did wonders making him more social, teaching him how to interact with others and develop his skills. The occupational therapists developed many of his gross and fine motor skills needed to execute necessary daily functions, as well as strengthened his body.
When he was diagnosed with autism at 2 years age, just before our move to Jordan, the developmental pediatrician told us he might never talk. Now he can’t stop talking thanks to his speech therapists at Al-Masar and their wonderful work. Also, academically, with the support of his special education teacher, he achieved heights that we thought he would never be able to achieve. Just to give you an idea of his progress, he came as a boy with no more than 10 simple words and in two years’ time is now speaking in 3 to 4-word sentences and even using more complex structures like past tense, comparatives, adverbs and adjectives. This is huge!
I would whole-heartedly recommend Al-Masar for their professionalism, constant development of personal skills through training and for the warm welcome they extend the children every day at work.
A message from Zaid’s parents
When Zaid started kindergarten his teachers immediately alerted us that his behavior was not normal and that we should have an assessment done. This was not an easy time for our family. We had to accept that our intelligent, beautiful, loving child was now considered “special needs”. Suddenly we were overwhelmed by all sorts of tests and experts. However, when we went to Al-Masar, they advised us that rather than focusing on a diagnosis, we would be better off treating his issues through therapies. We liked this approach and decided to go with it.
Zaid started occupational therapy sessions twice a week and we immediately started at home with an action plan and sensory diet put together by Al-Masar. Zaid was getting targeted help by experts who could help him master his movements and help him control his emotions better. Before therapy, he couldn’t sit on a swing without screaming; he could barely hold a pen while his classmates drew pictures and wrote. He had to leave the room during noisy group activities.
Slowly, things began to improve for Zaid. His wonderful therapists taught him how to control his body. He learnt how to sit properly at a desk, to hold a pen and then to write, which meant he could participate properly in school. They patiently spent many hours developing his motor skills so he could catch a ball or stand on one leg. Earlier this year and after about two years of twice-a-week therapy sessions, Zaid finished his regular sessions at Al-Masar.
There are still challenges but he now lives the life of a regular boy in a regular class with no special treatment. He has many friends and his confidence grows all the time. We are delighted that Zaid’s issues were identified and addressed early and that he got the help and understanding he needed.
A message from Yazan's parents
Allow me first to start with a big thank you to Al-Masar and even this thank you will not be enough and will not give them the credit they deserve.
My story started with Al-Masar almost 6 years ago when Yazan was diagnosed with mild autism at the age of three. He started receiving speech and occupational therapy, and attended the early intervention program for two years. He later moved to Al-Masar School, and made wonderful progress with the special education he was receiving so that after two years he was ready for partial school integration. He is now in full mainstream, certainly with complete follow up from Al-Masar.
I truly believe in Al-Masar who has made an important, positive and lasting impact on Yazan. We have always felt more than satisfied with the treatment, follow up and education that he received at Al-Masar. More than that, Yazan’s progress seems to be unstoppable now. That is why we will forever be thankful to the provision of extracurricular activities that helped him become a different young boy, and we will always think of Al-Masar lovingly for that.
Since there are no more words that can express my gratitude and appreciation, I would just like to say the sincerest: THANK YOU.