Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination launched the updated version of the third edition of the Disability Classification Manual for People of Determination in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which comes in line with the Emirate's efforts within the framework of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination that was launched in 2020 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, where the strategy included an initiative for the unification of the local directory with the national classification of disabilities, which necessitated the preparation of the third edition of the Disability Classification Manual.
Laila Al Hayas: “The guide is an important step towards the national empowerment of all disability groups and ensuring the fulfillment of their rights".
Sidra Al Mansoori: “The third edition of the manual has been sent to the relevant authorities to start developing an activation plan based on 6 key criteria".
Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination launched the updated version of the third edition of the Disability Classification Manual for People of Determination in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which comes in line with the Emirate's efforts within the framework of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination that was launched in 2020 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, where the strategy included an initiative for the unification of the local directory with the national classification of disabilities, which necessitated the preparation of the third edition of the Disability Classification Manual.
The Disability Classification Manual comes in response to the great paradigm shift in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in various fields, which is in line with the needs of agencies and bodies related to the provision of services, whether at the educational, rehabilitative, therapeutic, health and/or social level, as well as at functional levels and including all other services aimed at socially empowering people of determination.
Dr. Laila Al Hayas, Acting Executive Director of the Monitoring and Innovation Sector at the Department of Community Development, explained that the Disability Classification Manual for People of Determination in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is an important step towards ensuring that all disability groups in the country have access to the rights and services that integrate and empower people of determination, in line with the vision of Abu Dhabi's strategy for people of determination towards an inclusive and empowering society for them, especially as we work together to build a culture of society from a human rights perspective for people of determination, in order to ensure the provision of high-quality and integrated services in the governmental, private or third-party sectors.
Al Hayas praised the efforts of Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination for its role in issuing the updated version of the third edition of the manual, as it is considered one of the first achievements of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for People of Determination and will contribute to ensuring a common understanding and unified application of disability groups between service providers and stakeholders, in addition to building unified statistics and data for stakeholders. At the state level, the manual will serve to inform the process of developing policies, programs, and submitting international reports.
Sidra Al Mansoori, Director of the People of Determination Services Department at Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination, said the manual is based on the provisions of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which is based on the principle of society for all, and the unified national classification of people with disabilities (people of determination) of the UAE (2018), which aimed to ensure that all groups included in the classification obtain the rights included in Federal Law No. 29/2006 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as amended by Federal Law No. (14) of 2009.
She added that the Abu Dhabi Executive Council has begun sending the third edition of the Disability Classification Manual for People of Determination 2020 to all government agencies and entities in the Emirate, and the 12 high-impact authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi have also been briefed in order to develop a plan to activate the manual according to six key criteria: commitment to the 11 categories mentioned in the guide, commitment to using the names of disabilities and their classifications mentioned in the guide, limiting data related to people of determination within the scope of the agency's work according to the classifications mentioned in the guide, commitment to service delivery paths according to the classifications in the guide, and commitment to amending the entities' internal policies and regulations in line with what is stated in the manual, with an obligation to include the categories of people of determination mentioned in the manual in the services provided by the entity within the scope of its competencies.
Al Mansoori explained that the Disability Classification Manual for People of Determination in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi 2020 includes 11 major disability classifications and 28 subclassifications, distributed across five axes, namely: neurodevelopmental disorders, sensory disabilities, physical disabilities, mental disorders, and multiple disabilities. Each of the classifications of people with disabilities included in the main classification, as well as the subclassifications, are defined. The manual is unique in that it specifies a service path for each of the sub-categories mentioned in the manual. These service paths are presented in a way that highlights the sequence of paths and the name of the path, and it is clear that the sequence of paths does not mean that every individual from each category must compulsorily follow the paths in a sequence, but rather the individual with disabilities is assigned to the most suitable service path based on the evaluation of their situation and the extent of their need for services according to their diagnosis, age group, and what is agreed upon by the concerned team.
Objectives of the Disability Classification Manual:
The manual aims to provide a reliable reference in identifying the classifications of people of determination, their definitions, types, and suitable service paths, as well as in defining the responsibilities and tasks of the entities related to service provision for these classifications in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in addition to providing a frame of reference on which to base the strategic planning of services and the preparation of various statistical studies and surveys. The manual also serves as a reference in the designations of people of determination classifications, and in determining their various needs for services.
The manual also aims to harmonize with the unified national classification of people with disabilities (people of determination) of the UAE (2018), which is the standardization of data and statistics on persons with disabilities in a consistent manner at a national level and is comparable between international data and over time, which benefits the international reporting process and the development process, as well as the development of legislation and programs. This guide comes as a result of the need to adopt a common language and unified concepts for use by service providers.
Outcomes of the Disability Classification Manual:
The most important outcome of the Disability Classification Manual in its previous publications is the building of an electronic record database for people of determination in Abu Dhabi, the first phase of which was launched in February of 2020, in addition to calculating the prevalence of disability in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi according based on classification and determining the paths of social services that the Emirate provides to them and the rest of the community, such as educational, rehabilitative, entertainment and preventive services, as well as its contribution to future plans for services, programs and facilities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The Disability Classification Manual for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi integrates the roles of the Emirate's authorities and unifies efforts towards empowering people of determination in the community. It also aims to develop a clear vision for the future of people of determination in the Emirate, and both the specialized and basic services for them, as well as adopting accurate and unified databases for them, including electronic linking between the Emirate's authorities related to their services, as well as adopting coding tools and standards for evaluation, diagnosis and detection processes and preparing studies and surveys specialized in the field of disability and disability prevalence.
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