Inclusion Without Limits   4 min Reimagining Inclusion in Early Education for Children in Egypt

Maya Angelou once said, “In diversity, there is beauty and there is strength.” We are all born differently. Each human being is unique. Cherishing our differences should begin from childhood through inclusion. Inclusive classrooms, places, and mindsets are the key to maintaining and celebrating diversity. Omnia Ahmed about two inspiring examples from Egypt.

Many children go out to spend their day at day care centers or what is locally known as nurseries. A typical nursery hosts children from ages zero to four. On average, a child with working parents may spend up to forty hours per week in the nursery. This is a huge chunk of their early and most important years. Nurseries usually offer classrooms for every age group.

Children spend their day playing, learning, developing skills, singing, eating, and napping until they are picked up by their parents. Through these activities, they are expected to acquire linguistic, social, and cognitive skills. This happens upon interacting with their peers, teachers, in addition to studying a special early childhood curriculum and having play time. Amongst the many nurseries in Cairo are two that are changing the approach to early childhood education.

Why is Early Childhood Important?

According to a study published by the Journal of Developmental Psychology, lower Early Childhood Education (ECE) has been always associated with subsequent mental disorders. Another study by the Faculty of Public Health Medicine at the Royal College of Physicians at Ireland, shows that our early years can even determine the quality of our mental, neurological, and physical health as adults. All our skills and socialization are acquired in early childhood, and if something goes wrong, a child will suffer during adolescence and adulthood.

This is why two Egyptian psychologists and entrepreneurs, who are also active as mental health advocates decided to change the narrative and create a new early childhood experience that will benefit both the children and the society. Dalia Soliman, an Education Psychologist and CEO and founder of Egypt’s Autistic Society, Impact Egypt, Launch Vocational Center, and recently Autismania, and Sara Aziz, a licensed psychotherapist, CEO and founder of Safe Egypt and recently Safe Nursery.

Demystifying autism in Egypt

In 1998, Dalia Soliman had just returned to Egypt with a bachelor’s and a master's in educational psychology. She saw the lack of awareness of autism in Egypt. There wasn’t any proper diagnosis, no proper therapy or support. That’s when she decided to found Egypt’s Autistic Society. “Most children at that time would come to us misdiagnosed and thus remain non-verbal for many years”, says Soliman. “No one knew what Autism was, and medical students only studied three lines in a book about it”. First, she signed Protocols with universities to train and hire psychiatrists and psychologists. Then she introduced the blended nursery concept, only to find it was illegal in Egypt and that she had to work with the government to change the laws around it. There were no laws to regulate and give rights to autistic people.

After founding Egypt’s Autistic Society,  Soliman and her team advocated for the cause by working with government bodies to improve the laws, execute awareness campaigns, and provide support to individuals living with autism as well as guidance to their families  After many years of advocacy and support, Soliman launched Impact and Launch centers to train individuals with autism and integrate them into the workforce. The centers provide professional training for autistic people in many fields and then assist them in finding jobs. They have trained people for the creative fields, hospitality, and several other fields.
 

Autismania - an app to improve Inclusion

After thirty years of working and advocating for diversity, and inclusion, Soliman saw an opportunity to introduce the inclusion concept in early childhood day care centers. Her latest company is called Autismania. Autismania started as an application that parents and caregivers can download and get services for their children with autism, and one of the many services they offer are the inclusion classes. Autismania helps other day care centers to open an inclusion class that has both neurotypical children and children with autism.

Autismania provides the nursery with trained teachers and activities for the inclusive classes. They have established these classes in several nurseries in Cairo so far.

Why Is Inclusion Important?

According to Soliman the importance of opening diverse and inclusive classes in early childhood lies in its effects for both - children with autism and neurotypical ones. She is convinced that it helps develop the social and cognitive skills of both kids. It will help kids with autism blend in and acquire many important social skills. As for neurotypical children, they will learn how to accept and understand the needs of their autistic peers, which will create empathy and eliminate bullying in schools and later in life. “Children should know that we are born different; this creates an empathetic individual able to accept and embrace all differences and empower others in the future,” says Soliman.

By providing such a service and opening inclusion classes in many nurseries, Soliman aims to provide children with autism with their rights to be integrated and accepted in society and become ready for a blended school. This will make the whole educational process smoother and easier for both the child and the parents.

Creating a safe hub for children

According to a systematic review of research involving more than 16 million young people from 25 countries conducted between 1990 and 2020 published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health children and adolescents with disabilities are more than twice as likely to experience violence be it neglect, physical, sexual, and emotional violence compared to those without disabilities, having often  a serious and long-lasting impact on their health and wellbeing. Sara Aziz is the founder and CEO of Safe Organization and Safe Nursery. More than fourteen years ago, Sara, a newly certified psychotherapist, was working with survivors of sexual abuse. She asked herself what if we prevent and raise awareness in childhood instead of waiting till the abuse happens. This is how "Safe Organization" was born. "Safe Organization" is providing awareness sessions, workshops, therapy, and training for the prevention of child sexual abuse. It has worked closely with governmental bodies, corporates, schools, and local media to provide awareness on the topic for all age groups and members of society.

Along with the organization, Aziz introduced Safe Nursery. A nursery that uses storytelling and imagination to enhance early childhood experience.

“Our slogan is “Building a skillful child”, says Aziz. “Our edge is that we offer a unique blended curriculum that combines both skills and creative storytelling,” she adds. Safe Nursery offers a blended model that combines the skills-focused Japanese curriculum, the Jolly Phonics curriculum, and their own storytelling curriculum.

Each class's theme is a fictional animal character with a creative name. “This is called the fauna concept”, so Aziz, “We use animals to teach kids the values of Safe organization because kids at that age are very connected to animal characters. ”Each class has a 3D figure of the fictional character that the kid can touch and feel, which aims to develop their sensory skills. Every character is based on an animal that teaches a certain value. For example, Fishoo is the collaborative fish that teaches children about collaboration, Felfela is a trusty elephant that teaches trust, Rory is the leading lion that teaches children about leadership, and Nasry is an Egyptian Eagle. All animals have their own picture book and story that children read during story time.
 

Social-emotional learning

“In Safe Nursery, we focus on the development of social-emotional learning by teaching the children to understand, embrace, and express their feelings. This is done by our board game SafeFeelings during circle time”, says Aziz. “We also use the interactive design of the classrooms and the 3D figures to develop their sensory and motor skills, ”Storytelling doesn’t end at the animal characters or SafeFeelings, children also receive workshops to raise their awareness about protecting themselves against abuse and bullying in an age-appropriate way. They have books like “I am precious,” written by Sara Aziz, the founder, that enhance the self-worth of every child so that they stand up for themselves against bullying and abuse and .they have specially developed songs that teach the child their own value and worth and help with their identity development. Safe nursery also includes the parents by providing guidance, workshops, and awareness sessions about early childhood and children’s safety. Furthermore, Aziz plans to make educational materials, books, and board games available for purchase for everybody soon.

Early childhood is the most important stage of our lives. Every action, memory, and idea is important as it will shape who we are as adults. These two inspiring examples give an idea about how inclusion, diversity, and storytelling in early childhood can offer a way to tackle bigger problems in society. Hopefully Egypt and the SWANA region will soon witness more inclusive and creative approaches in the educational field. It is more than needed.

April 2026