Forty Heads of Special Schools and Units for Intellectual Disability in Ghana, on Friday ended a five-day workshop on Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) in Koforidua.

The ABA is the application of principles and tactics to investigate and modify inappropriate behaviours in Special Needs Children.

The workshop, which was organized by the Ghana Education Service, aimed at equipping the participants with the requisite knowledge and skills necessary to prepare Individualized Educational Programme (IEP) to facilitate the effective and efficient teaching of the Special Needs Children.

It also aimed to enable Special Needs Teachers to write a Behaviour Modification Support Plan for their students.

Ms Benedicta Naana Biney, Director General of the GES, who closed the workshop, said it was the first of its kind to be organized.

She said quality education could not be achieved if capacity workshops were not organized for teachers to equip them with skills. She urged them to work hard and to promote Inclusive Education in their areas.

Ms Rosemond Ndama Blay, Director, Special Education Division of the GES, urged the trainers to put what they were taught into good use to be able to manage children with intellectual disability well.

She said the GES aims at ensuring that no child would be denied education as a result of his or her intellectual disability, hence the Inclusive Education.

Mr Alfred Nokobi, the Course Prefect, said the workshop was long overdue since teachers in Special Needs Education needed skills in ABA as a tool to deliver effectively and efficiently in the School system.

He stressed the urgent need for a Committee to be put in place by the Special Education Division, to draw a Common IEP for Implementation in all schools for the intellectually disabled in Ghana.

Mr Nokobi also called for a Monitoring team to go round all schools to make sure in-service training is carried out for Special Education Division (SPED) teachers.**