We went to Shine for an appointment today. I had previously requested to see the Special Ed teacher for the first consultation. First consultation is only 30mins (it's free) so I talked fast and asked many questions. My questions were mainly related to schooling as that's her area and that's top of my current concerns.
Points brought up and advice given:
- She thinks that if he's cognitively fine, he should stay with his peers. Just help him out more in weak areas like handwriting.
- Also, he should be with normal kids ie. mainstreamed, for now, because his cognitively ok.
- It's true that we wont know for sure if he has learning disabilities until he starts school proper. For eg. whether he is able to learn in a group setting. If he does appear to have learning disabilities, I can come back to her for further consultation.
- Personally, she thinks enrolling in the Chinese school system (for primary years onwards) is not wise. There's simply too much homework, too much writing, far too strict. She gave an example where a kid missed one day (due to MC) and ended up with a big stack of homework, of 10 different workbooks/areas.
My son is a bit on the sensitive side, so a very strict teacher may cause unnecessary stress. She also gave an example of a girl who started making loads of excuses not to go to her Chinese school when she reached Primary 1, because she was terrified of her teacher, even though the teacher scolds other kids and not her. Personally, I can relate to that feeling!
- She said that I've to be clear on the role of a shadow aide. A shadow aide must aim to let the child eventually be independent, and not need a shadow aide. I can help when he really needs help but other than that, dont let him be reliant on me. I was aware of that during today's holiday programme! I'll tell more about it in a post on his day.
- She advised me to talk to the teachers so that they dont use double standards for my son in terms of discipline. I brought this point up based on somethings I noted today and yesterday at school. Again, I'll tell more about in a post on his day.
- She says when it comes to registering him at Primary school, it may not be necessary to tell the teachers of his disability if he has caught up enough. It depends very much on his progress these 2 years. If they do know, then I should fight for him to be in a normal class and not a "klass khas" in a normal school. If I do need to convince them, then I can get a complete assessment done by an educational psychologist. It covers 4 areas, and done in probably 4 hours. I dread that. I feel such tests are seldom reflective of reality. But too soon to worry about it. My focus is these 2 years. One step at a time. Do as much as I can to help him.
Just a brief mention on the place itself. It's very well done up. Feels like a 5 star therapy centre. Non threatening. Has stickers of cartoon characters around the place. Has kids story books at the reception area. Consultation rooms are bright, and has toys. The special ed teacher is nice - non judgemental, really listens to you, patient (despite it being free), willing to help. Very hard to find people like that who are willing to help my son and I'm so blessed to have those special people (teachers, therapists, friends) in my life to help my special son!
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