A new scholastic year is about to begin at an unusual school, now in its 7th year of operation. Classes Oranges consists in one cosy-looking building in Bsalim, with a courtyard that fills with children during recess; it takes close scrutiny to notice something different about the students. Neither completely disabled, nor perfectly able, these are kids who possess the ability to learn but for one reason or another, cannot attend or keep up with conventional schools. It may be a learning disorder: dyslexia, light autism, trisomy, intellectual deficiency, or a neurological disorder: epilepsy and IMC among others. "We are a specialized school for children presenting difficulties in learning and adaptation," specifies Eliane Zarife, head of the school. Passionate about her call – helping children – but very down to earth, she launches into an exposé of the school and its methods.

Although C.O. opened in 97, the seed for it was planted in 87, when Zarife and two colleagues, Samar Abi Abdallah and Souaad Samia, initiated catch-up classes for young delinquents and orphans at the institution where they worked. "These were intelligent kids, but they suffered from learning difficulties everyone ignored," Zarife says. Gradually their labour of love found a focus in this area, for which there existed no facilities in the country. "We have a lot of institutions in Lebanon, that do a great job, but there's nothing to help the in-between, the kids who don't need love (their families are there for that) so much as technicity and specialized know-how." Guillemette Henry, orthophonist, moved to Lebanon from France to be the fourth cornerstone in the foundation of Classes Oranges, remarking: "Here at least I find what I was trying to develop in France on my own!"

The road to the school's creation was a bumpy one, with no help, but regular obstructions, from an uncaring government denounced by the head: "There are no laws for schools of this kind, and yet the Ministry of the Interior forced us out of successive structures by demanding that our classes, meant for 6 students, obey the regulations of classes for 30 students!"

Classes Oranges' primary goal is to take the children through a program based on the national program, so that they can eventually enrol in a normal school. Re-education is also part of the plan, with professionals that help them overcome disabilities that interfere with education. To this end, the team includes orthophonists, psychomotricians, and psychologists. The child's personality and social sense are also developed, his potential explored, and his growth monitored in collaboration with his family. With a conviction based on over two decades of field experience, Zarife insists: "Our classes are a medication for children who need it."

Even children of perfectly sound minds might do better in a specialised school. "Take one of our new students, who cannot walk," Zarife illustrates. "His class in school was on the third floor. He always spent recess upstairs. How must one feel in this situation? Another one suffers from a neuromuscular disease. His school would not even provide help, so his mother had to drive to school twice a day to take this boy to the bathroom!"

Contrary to the norm, C.O. is adapted to the individual child and not the reverse. Parents looking for the best place for a child can have a full evaluation of his or her abilities done at the school free of charge, after which they'll know what kind of establishment would be the best choice. When a student is accepted – an acceptance based on ability to learn and group-compatible behaviour – he or she embarks on a program customized to his own difficulties and strengths. The classes are very small, 6 to 8 children at most. The 30 hours of the week are divided up between courses, re-education, and collective learning.

In addition to classes taken with specialized teacher, there are workshops Zarife refers to as therapeutic: visual arts, pantomime, and music. They are a part of the overall education because they solidify lessons given under another form. Tatiana Sabbagh animates the visual arts workshop, a job made none too easy by the fact that there is very little, or very slow, feedback from these special students. "I do it because if I don't, these kids will have no chance of ever doing something like this," she shares. "Art education is already insufficient in other schools. And for these in particular it is very important to make something with their own hands, because they're so protected at home they can't even make a cup of tea for themselves..."

The final step at Classes Oranges, which takes in children between 3 and 12 but generally no older, is to send the graduating back to a regular school to resume their studies, or to orient them towards a technical school. "Sometimes there's such an age difference that to send a kid back to school would create psychological problems," says Zarife, "or they reach a learning limit they can't pass. In this case we start lightening the load of French, Arabic and Math in their syllabus and start putting the accent on autonomy and personality development." The school hopes to be able to give special help to cases that seem cut for neither, as they did with one young girl who seemed a lost cause until it was noticed she loved toddlers. The staff gave her the charge of assistant-kindergarden-teacher, with miraculous results to the girl's personality within a week: she was feeling valorised at last, and her future path was now clear.

Constant valorisation and recognition are two of the needs of children like these, as their self-confidence has often been destroyed early on. Zarife asserts: "The child is a radar and a sponge, seeing all and absorbing all." Pity and overprotection, even unspoken, make him aware of his difference. "This is a group that we help by looking them in the eyes. We must keep a human scale: the relational aspect is very important. Besides this, they are not that different from us. I invite anyone to peep through the gate during recess, and tell me if they're not just like any other kid playing, laughing, crying!"

Schools such as C.O. are regularly pilloried by the partisans of integration, which is the acceptance of disabled children in regular schools. Wouldn't it be more healthy, they ask, to let them mix with regular children? "I support integration very strongly when it is well done," Zarife replies, "but there is no such thing in Lebanon at this time! There is a difference between integration and insertion." She goes on to give the example of one of their graduates, a very bright boy who is now in school with a high average. Only now the boy is vividly aware of his difference, and quite unhappy. At the very least, a transition class would be necessary to facilitate the passage from a group of 6 to one of 30 students.

The extent of children with learning disabilities in Lebanon is hard to tell for sure as there are no statistics, but Zarife gives us an approximation: "The world ratio is 12%, Lebanon's must be at least 25%! War sequels..." Despite the numbers, the country faces a great deal of ignorance on the subject. The general conception is that a person is either retarded/handicapped, or normal, and people straddling the line are pigeonholed into the former category. The good news however is that the general attitude is tolerance, if not by education, at least by compassion. "Faced with a disabled child," shesays sadly, "we are moved by the 'haram' feeling to act foolish, which is the last thing this child needs. I refuse to feel pity for my pupils. They are treated like any other student."

Only 6 years in operation but already a growing reputation of excellence: "I am proud to say that I have a 6-year-old who comes everyday from Saida. Better yet, entire families have moved from Aleppo, from Qatar, even from France, to sign up a child at our school."
Justly proud of the school, Zarife also begs parents not to take her word for it. "This is your child's life: don't just hang on one opinion. Research everywhere and talk to everyone before deciding where your child will really be taken care of."

Classes Oranges, tel 04 713 496, 03 708 699, ghorange@cyberia.net.lb

Article by Joumana Medlej