Helping people with special needs

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — What does it take to care of someone with special needs?

On Friday, Dolores Cheng, founder of the Center for Possibilities Foundation, sat down with CNN Philippines' Mitzi Borromeo to talk about how it is to raise a child with special needs.

Cheng said the foundation was her way of coming to terms with her son who has Global Development Delay.

Global Developmental Delay occurs when a child exhibits delays in his or her language or speech, vision, movement, social and emotional skills, and thought.

These delays may be caused a lot of different factors. Among them may be a learning disability, genetic defects, and medical problems.

Before the foundation was established, there weren't a lot of resources for families to help them learn more or cope with family members with special needs.

Cheng said, "Maybe if I formed a group of my own, maybe I would ring a call to other people who might be in the same boat."

She added, a lot of families who had loved ones with special needs tended to be in denial or played down the issue. The foundation helped form a support system for them.

To help further their cause, the Center for Possibilities Foundation will be showing a a film entitled Yakap.

Cheng explained that the film was a peek into a day in the life of three children with special needs.

"Our vision is to create a society that will embrace all children with disabilities into the mainstream; to treat them the way we treat each other - with compassion, respect, dignity," Cheng said.

While the film is set to be shown in September, Cheng said they have been conducting viewings in schools to help children understand what it means to have special needs.