All About Autism

[phtthp]

DesertWind:

Hi tyeogh, double-E and all,


How are you?

How time flies, boy is now in P2 and still having a shadow-teacher. This shadow-teacher is a God-send and has been following up on my boy since P1 for 4 hours each day. She will write daily feedback and also make sure he finishes his homework on time in school. When she cannot shadow him, it shows in his messy bag and pencil case with missing stationery etc.

The mid-year report was a good one all things considered. His Maths is quite good but English is not ideal. Teacher suspected we over-focus on Maths and he was quite right. English composition would be a problem going forward. Boy's speech is still not on par with his peers but he sure can nag when he wants to. For eg. now, he wants to \"go on holiday, mummy!\" because June holiday is coming and he is anticipating our staycation in Sentosa hotel again.

While I was hoping he can do without the shadow teacher, but the arrangement is now so comfortable that I just close one eye to :moneyflies: :moneyflies: :moneyflies: .

Some of us are pretty pensive for some reason as we ponder the future...

For me, am not without my fair share of challenging situation.

For example, we just received the letter from MOE informing the school that our application for Mandarin exemption has failed. So what are we going to do now? Siaz..... :? Sometimes I am amazed at the types of tomatoes that are being thrown to us. Thought we have taken care of one issue already another one came! :gloomy: Teachers in school all surprised because they thought this would be a straight-forward case since they have never heard my boy verbalized one word of Mandarin in the 2 years there and oral etc. all close to zero-points. But my boy can write Mandarin beautifully and read with the help of hanyu-pinyin.

Hubby actually wanted to stomp into the PD's office asking what happened, izzit the report not written well enough? I told him we better stop and think carefully what we want to do next. For eg. the rejection letter stated that exemption would be given on grounds of learning disability, not ASD.....

Anyway....not going to think much for now because need to take a break lah...enjoy our holidays with our kids first. Yes, because they really don't have a care in the world at their age. My boy is really happy to go school each day!.

:celebrate:

if a child have learning disability, in a language : child can gain exemption.
But, if the child no learning disabilty : child won't clear exemption.
Educational professionals are cautious, in clearing a child for exemption.

for example
you mention that \"the rejection letter stated that exemption would be given on grounds of learning disability, not ASD\"

you also say that, \"But my boy can write Mandarin beautifully and read with the help of hanyu-pinyin\", this shows that your son is able to read and write Mandarin well, is not that your boy cannot even read nor write any Chinese character at all, hence the educational professionals conclude that since he actually didn't show a learning disability in P2 Chinese, thus did not clear him for exemption ?

if a child unable to clear exemption, at P5, Mainstream school may recommend alternative, eg: take Foundation Chinese, instead of Standard Chinese, at end of P4 SA2 streaming, into P5 classes.

This was what happened, to my friend's daughter (also ASD child) from a mission primary school.
in the end, at PSLE : her daughter did 3 Standard subjects (English, Maths, Science), plus Foundation Chinese. Her mom said Foundation Chinese, is much easier.

[pokoyoko]

Did anyone catch Adrian Pang’s latest play, ‘Falling’? There was something he said that I felt for…


"If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve only met one person".

[DesertWind]

mashy:

Try the exemption application again next year? I've heard of a lot of rejections from MOE recently. I must be so blessed to get exemption quickly. We had the psychologist's report and the Cdu doctor's letter when we submitted. The letter was very simple. Both had recommendations for him to be exempted from MT.

Hi mashy,

Ya, maybe times have changed. Anyway, we will appeal and see how... :celebrate:

[DesertWind]

tyeogh:

Hi Desertwind,

When the child development doctor saw my son, she wrote an exemption letter for him straight away. It's a good thing someone thinks your son can make it, no? :rotflmao:

On the other fronts, my son is well settled into Pathlight foundation year. No pressure, no stress. He is happy. I am happy. That's all that matters I suppose?

Hi Tyeogh,

Ya, in Pathlight it is automatic exemption for MT so no worries. Even all the special arrangements and concessions for exams. eg. extra time etc. will be arranged by the school with the MOE directly.

Anyway, whichever school our boys attend, it must work on daily basis on all front ya? Yes, the kid must be happy and then the adults will be happy too!

:celebrate:

[DesertWind]

Double E:

DesertWind

Your boy is in mainstream right? My boy is similar, he can read with Hanyu Pin yin, writes nice chinese character, could score in his Ting Xie. If not for him missing the entire page 2 of his Chinese exam paper, he could have squeezed into Band 1. But I know his compo and oral will be a big problem, that's why I was comtemplating exemption by the time he turns P2. Looks like I may face similar issue as you when I decide to apply exemption for him, unless his results deteriorated.

Hi Double E,

Yes, my boy in mainstream. Its good to hear that your boy is coping well with Chinese so far!
I suppose nowadays just can't expect the MT exemption will be granted even after we got all the paperwork done and send in the application lor...
:celebrate:

[DesertWind]

phtthp:

...this shows that your son is able to read and write Mandarin well, is not that your boy cannot even read nor write any Chinese character at all, hence the educational professionals conclude that since he actually didn't show a learning disability in P2 Chinese, thus did not clear him for exemption ?


This was what happened, to my friend's daughter (also ASD child) from a mission primary school. In the end, at PSLE : her daughter did 3 Standard subjects (English, Maths, Science), plus Foundation Chinese. Her mom said Foundation Chinese, is much easier.

Hi phtthp,

Thanks for sharing!

Anyway, currently boy is already going to a different class to learn more basic Chinese compared to his other classmates who remain in class waiting for their laoshi to come. So everyday he needs to carry not only his backpack but another bag to hold all his Chinese text/activity/exercise books so that he can bring to his chinese class...

We are taking one step at a time and I am sure everything will work out for good eventually lor...

:celebrate:

[winniepig]

Hi all,


I am new here. My boy (now is 2.5yr old) have autism symptom, went KK last year(they dinot give us a answer, cos kid was too young to diagnose at 18mth). They refer us to alot test and OT/ST, and we ddi enroll eipic ctr @ woodlands. And we did employ a private teacher teaching him the ABA once a week(when we are waiting for the eipic ctr), attending the normal childcare now.

The woodlands Eipic just replied us last mth, they only can take him under 1-3pm slot. we did explain to them the kid situation need nag in this particular time, but they replied we need be flexible esp autism kid. after discussion, we just want to give him a try. But i am surprise the teacher is so young, and they seen donot know how to interactive w them.(it is only 2kids included my boy) And she replied us she got no experience on teaching so young kid. :gloomy:

I feel so sad... after long waiting and having this situation. Anyone can share your experience in Eipic ctr?? or it is really all the same? is it the Eipic ctr can help the kid back to mainstream school?? private teacher really cost alot and he did well on 1 to 1 session, but not the group setting.

we keep praying for the past year, looking solution... or anyone can help or giving advise??

[sharonkhoo]

winniepig:

I feel so sad... after long waiting and having this situation. Anyone can share your experience in Eipic ctr?? or it is really all the same? is it the Eipic ctr can help the kid back to mainstream school?? private teacher really cost alot and he did well on 1 to 1 session, but not the group setting.


we keep praying for the past year, looking solution... or anyone can help or giving advise??

It's very important for regular (daily) continual reinforcement. Can you learn how to do it and do it yourself? You can still have individual sessions, just less frequently so they can advise you what to do at home.

[ImMeeMee]

winniepig:

Hi all,


I am new here. My boy (now is 2.5yr old) have autism symptom, went KK last year(they dinot give us a answer, cos kid was too young to diagnose at 18mth). They refer us to alot test and OT/ST, and we ddi enroll eipic ctr @ woodlands. And we did employ a private teacher teaching him the ABA once a week(when we are waiting for the eipic ctr), attending the normal childcare now.

The woodlands Eipic just replied us last mth, they only can take him under 1-3pm slot. we did explain to them the kid situation need nag in this particular time, but they replied we need be flexible esp autism kid. after discussion, we just want to give him a try. But i am surprise the teacher is so young, and they seen donot know how to interactive w them.(it is only 2kids included my boy) And she replied us she got no experience on teaching so young kid. :gloomy:

I feel so sad... after long waiting and having this situation. Anyone can share your experience in Eipic ctr?? or it is really all the same? is it the Eipic ctr can help the kid back to mainstream school?? private teacher really cost alot and he did well on 1 to 1 session, but not the group setting.

we keep praying for the past year, looking solution... or anyone can help or giving advise??

winniepig

It may not be a surprise that SPED teachers are getting younger these days. I suppose it could be due to the government putting in place more programs on SPED, so the demand and supply issue kicks in. Generally speaking, if the teacher indeed has no experience, she is likely to be under training and the supervision of the teacher in charge, and likely not taking the group by herself. So you may like to check it out in more detail when she said what she said.

In the EIPIC school that my daughter attended back then, there is an overall teacher-in-charge that oversees the rest of the teachers. They called her the Principal Teacher. If indeed your teacher is not experienced or that you have concerns about the teaching approach, you could talk to the P teacher, raise your concerns and give feedback on how to manage your child. The teachers also work in a team when delivering the IEP for the child, and they organise periodic sessions with parents to set goals and discuss strategies. You could make use of these opportunities to ask questions and seek clarification on issues that you have.

Hope this helps. All the best.

[bs1975]

Hi,

Any recommendation of PD or Nutritionist who believe in treating asd with diet/supplements.
I see some results after removing casein and limiting gluten in boy boy’s diet. However, his weight gain has been very slow in the past 6 months. Thinking of bring him to see dietician.