All About Autism
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slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2026322\" time=\"1622940297\" user_id=\"28674:
Very touching!
Next in the series:
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/she-married-man-autism-spectrum-disorder-asd-asperger-syndrome-14957564
We have been watching this HK drama series on & off whenever we happen to see it on Channel 8 (or Channel U, can’t remember which). Followed the male doctor who has Asperger’s thru his dating life till after marriage:
Life After Death (Dual Sound)
https://live.mewatch.sg/show/Life-After-Death-%28Dual-Sound%29-213133 -
Commentary: Does the word ‘autistic’ make you uncomfortable? It shouldn’t, says the community
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/cnainsider/journalists-schooled-autistic-community-see-past-autism-problem-15196716
Another article in the series. Well worth reading. -
Dear Parent,
Congrats and best wishes for your kids best future endevour. As we parent are foundation/pillar to kids, im much concerned on my son future. School psychologist assessed as "mild intellectual disability" and recommend to send to SPED school (Chaoyong). Im in high dilemma to enroll my son to SPED school (Chaoyong), because that there is no PSLE curriculum and enroute to ITE. But in my deep thoughts he can improve and also he may become successful one day. Im not God and not able sworn that. Also, when he became adult and asked me "why you choose to send to SPED school, despite others are pursuing through normal streams" i have no answers for that.
But my well wishers are perceiving that after adolescent he became normal. Im migrated and became rooted here. No chance to go anywhere.
As a mom whom had numerous difficulties encountered, you may have some answers for us to envision. Would you please let me share about your thoughts. -
Raajan\" post_id=\"2030505\" time=\"1626237976\" user_id=\"193835:
How old is your child? He seems to be already in a school. If your child has already been in school for a while, it may be clearer to professionals how far behind he is, and whether he able to keep up. If he has not started school, you may want to let him try for a while, and see.
Dear Parent,
Congrats and best wishes for your kids best future endevour. As we parent are foundation/pillar to kids, im much concerned on my son future. School psychologist assessed as \"mild intellectual disability\" and recommend to send to SPED school (Chaoyong). Im in high dilemma to enroll my son to SPED school (Chaoyong), because that there is no PSLE curriculum and enroute to ITE. But in my deep thoughts he can improve and also he may become successful one day. Im not God and not able sworn that. Also, when he became adult and asked me \"why you choose to send to SPED school, despite others are pursuing through normal streams\" i have no answers for that.
But my well wishers are perceiving that after adolescent he became normal. Im migrated and became rooted here. No chance to go anywhere.
As a mom whom had numerous difficulties encountered, you may have some answers for us to envision. Would you please let me share about your thoughts.
If your child is already in school, how much help is he getting from home and outside school? Mainstream schools are not equipped to give much support to kids with special needs. So these kids will need a lot of extra support and help from parents and outside just to keep up. Just being in a class with kids who are doing better will not mean that the learning will \"rub off\" on him; in fact, he could just fall further and further back. That could damage his self-esteem. So the choice of mainstream school may work, but you need to be prepared to give a lot of extra support, coaching, mentoring, etc. And there is always a risk that in the end, he may still not be able to cope.
The good thing about schools which specifically cater to special needs is that they have a high teacher-student ratio and can pay more attention to each individual student. The teachers are also specially trained to deal with such needs. Kids with special needs, taught at their own pace, and given tailored support, can indeed catch up with mainstream peers to some degree, but usually this takes a longer time and individualised teaching. And going at a slower pace may mean that he will reach a higher end point than if he is rushed to keep up with mainstream and cconstantly struggling.
It may be hard to give up the chance of taking PSLE, but you need to be objective - what are the chances that he will do well enough at PSLE to qualify for sec school? You should talk to the teachers and psychologist and weigh all the pros and cons.
Another thing - kids with special needs grow up to be adults with special needs. They may learn to cope better and find ways to deal with some of their issues, and may even be able to disguise their special needs to those who don't know them well. If they are advised wisely, they will find a job that capitalises on their strengths and doesn't make demands on their weaknesses. But they never \"become normal\".
My own experience is different from yours - my daughter has mild ASD but has average intellectual abilities, and above average abilities in some aspects. Our challenge was to help her cope with her poor social skills and inattention, as well as poor executive functioning, auditory processing, and dyspraxia. I was a SAHM until she was 17, and only worked part-time after that. My main reason was to be available to coach her and support her because I knew the schools were not able to give her that kind of individualised attention. I also had to lower my expectations of what she could achieve. Given her intellectual abilities, without the special needs, she could done a lot better. I can safely say that if we had just put her in mainstream school and hoped for her to \"improve\", she would have done a lot worse. We always kept in the back of our minds that she might need to go to a special school at some point, but we always managed to keep her going - but it was a lot of hard work for all of us, and her. Now, she is looking for a job - yet another huge challenge.
Just my thoughts. -
Reading articles like this makes me more worry or should I say conscious for my child. Sometimes, I feel like I’m over reacting but, I do hope she is perfectly fine.
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That’s part of being a parent, anxiety and stress level are on the peak most of the time. We tend to panic for small things but, as our child grows , we will also out grow those worries.
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Hi
I am happy to find this forum, which answers much of the queries I have in mind and lessen the worry about my boys. Frankly speaking, I had no one to ask or seek advice; holding everything to myself sometimes drives me crazy!
I am a father of twin boys; both are now 4.2 years. Everything was going well, and the kids were catching up with all the milestones except for speech and language.
We got worried when they were two years old, still no sign of proper speech. Their receptive language was also very minimal.
They were noisy at times, especially during their playtime and at first, we thought this is how kids are, and they will get better by age.
However, things didn't go as we expected. We enrolled them into a playgroup (sparkles tot), where the teacher raised her first concern. She said my kids don't sit idle and walking around, tearing the charts on the wall. She said they might have autism and asked us to consult a doctor.
Covid time started straight after that; we disenrolled our kids from the playgroup, concerned about the safety.
A few months ago, I went to a speech therapist, and she referred an EIPIC centre (Ichiban Nurtureland) to us. At the same time, I was planning to take my kids to KKH for formal assessment; however, the Ichiban management told us not to worry about the assessment if we are not concerned about the government subsidies. Assessment is just labelling the kids, and it is not necessary. We took her advice and enrolled our kids in there.
Now my kids are 4.2 years old, lack many skills compared to their peers.
- They are noisy at times
- They can say from A-Z and count 1-10 and sometimes repeat some words we say. But no proper 1-2 words or cannot say their needs. Usually, they will pull us over to what they want or bring it to us (especially if they want something to eat or play with).
- Recently, they started to play together, mostly rough and tumble play on the bed
- They can solve puzzles
- After going to school, their sitting habits have improved. Now they can sit for a long time, concentrating on the task given (colouring or puzzle-solving)
- No sensory issues and no repetitive behaviour
I always think, what else shall I do for them. I know my kids need help, but not sure what path shall I follow. Noone to ask because none in my friend circle of the family have experienced such issues.
Going only to the EIPIC program doesn't seem to be sufficient.
Having two kids means my expenses are double for everything
There will be parents who might have gone through my stage and have some advice for me.
I would value each of your advice. -
I think it’s best you get them assessed. They are old enough that a diagnosis can be made. 2 yrs ago, any diagnosis would have been tentative as it’s hard to diagnose kids that young. Go through the subsidised route - it will be slower, but it will be cheaper. I don’t know what the best way is, but I think you can call up KKH to ask about how to go about this.
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slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2035135\" time=\"1629461116\" user_id=\"28674:
Thank you for your reply.
I think it's best you get them assessed. They are old enough that a diagnosis can be made. 2 yrs ago, any diagnosis would have been tentative as it's hard to diagnose kids that young. Go through the subsidised route - it will be slower, but it will be cheaper. I don't know what the best way is, but I think you can call up KKH to ask about how to go about this.
I am trying to get an appointment in KKH for assessment.
Btw, does anyone knows about this EIPIC centre in Woodlands (https://www.trainkids.com.sg/)? Are they good?
I was planning to enrol my kids in there, appreciate it if any feedback is available. -
Hi everyone, new to the forum and hoping to hear from people with experiences.
I’m anticipating challenges where we may have to send our child to school (Eden) from the east. However, both of us need to work and picking our child up after school may be challenging.
How does everyone get around this?
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