SENATOR Win Gatchalian stressed the need to increase access to early interventions and diagnosis for learners with disabilities, especially now that the COVID19 pandemic threatens their access to essential health and education services.

During a Senate panel hearing, it was learned that less than 10% of child development workers are trained to manage children with disabilities in daycare centers, as shared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Program Management Bureau.

Gatchalian said in the absence of developmental pediatricians to provide medical diagnosis, child development centers can conduct assessments to identify risks of developmental delays.

These assessments are done with screening tools such as the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) checklist.

Gatchalian, author of Senate Bill No. 171 or the Inclusive for Education of Children and Youth with Special Needs Act, said interventions should be available at child development centers and daycare centers that cater to children aged zero to four.

The lawmaker emphasized that early detection and interventions in these centers can help learners with disabilities in their developmental milestones, especially when they join regular classes.

Child development workers, however, need to be capacitated so they can address developmental delays and provide minimum interventions for learners with disabilities.

Gatchalian earlier said he also seeks to include a medical diagnosis for learners with disabilities in the Universal Health Care Law since parents tend to skip this procedure due to its high cost.

The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation has estimated that there were 5.1 million children with disabilities in the Philippines as of 2018.

Data from the Department of Education’s Learner Information System, however, reveals that as of July 15, only 51,375 learners with disabilities are enrolled for SY 2020-2021.