Georgetown, Guyana.-A center for the care of Caribbean children with special educational needs associated with disabilities will be opened here in March, its coordinator, Cuban professor Jorge Duvalon announced today.

Interviewed by Prensa Latina, the university professor emphasized the methodological conception of the center that includes a psycho pedagogical approach for the educational, social and labor inclusion of the patients.

The first of five stages, dedicated to carry out a diagnosis of disabilities in children and young people in Guyana and 14 other countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), is currently being developed, he said. This diagnosis includes their current care in the region and the educational situation in those territories.

Recent statistics indicate that in Guyana, with an estimated population of 700,000 people, about 6.3 percent have special educational needs and other CARICOM countries have similar values.

That sub-regional integration body, whose leaders are holding today and tomorrow a summit on several economic and political issues, considers the care to disability a high priority.

Duvalon is leading a team of Cuban specialists (psychologist, psychometrist, psychotherapist, teacher, speech therapist, psychologist and rehabilitator) who will train Guyanese technicians in the coming weeks.

The specialists from the Center for the Development and Stimulation of Child, Adolescent and Youth will assist children who are deaf, blind, autistic, mentally retarded or with behavioral, language and communication problems.