All About Autism

[ImMeeMee]

Double E:

I had always hold the same perspective as Nugget until recently when I hear so much good things abt Pathlight n the horrible things about mainstream. So now I m inclining to take ImMeemee's route which is reasonable too. I want my boy to integrate but at 7 years old, will he be ready? Or should I give him a protected environment to build up his confidence first and if he proves that he can, I can get him transferred to mainstream. I know Pathlight will advice accordingly if the child is ready to do so.

Double E, I can understand your struggles, cos I had the same struggles when trying to decide whether mainstream or SPED for my doter.

You still have time. Keep an open mind and do your ground work for both types of schools. Come next year at least you would be prepared to make a decision either way. I used to be more geared towards mainstream school but my final decision was otherwise. So for all you know, things may change again.

:hugs:

[ImMeeMee]

slmkhoo:

I don't know what it's like in Singapore Pr schools, and if it's the case that bullying is rampant, then ImMeeMee's path is probably a good one. My daughter was not in a Singapore school, and although she was in 'mainstream' all the way, most of the time (grades 5-10) was spent in a small Christian school with accommodating classmates and teachers. The first 3+ yrs when she was in a Chinese school were tougher with a little harassment but not serious, and she still managed to cope. We placed her in an all-girls Christian school in Singapore for periods ranging from 1 mth to 1 semester (P4, P6, Sec2) where she coped OK. So we have been fortunate to have had a good experience with mainstream. I understand that it may not be the same in all mainstream schools. The only thing I wonder is how easy transitioning from PL to mainstream is in terms of adjustment by the child and acceptance by schools.

slmkhoo, I guess transitions will never be easy no matter at what age they happen, but transitions will always be inevitable.

So I suppose the question here is at what age should the major transition happen. 7 yo? 13? 17? Or in between?

One theory here, at least mine, is that transitions would be relatively easier when the child is older. So its a relativity issue. But until it is proven, I am also not sure if this is correct.

I also don't think that bullying is rampant in all SG schools. At least, those mainstream schools which have a track record of enrolling special needs children should have a relatively lower chance of bullying. Back then when not all mainstream primary schools had AED support for special needs, MOE used to have a list of primary schools that had AED support for special needs. I tend to believe this list is a good reference point for selecting the appropriate mainstream school for our special needs child, since they would already have a stronger background and infrastructure built up over time.

[ImMeeMee]

Double E:

I know Parhlight partners with Townsville Pri n Chong Boon Sec whereby the more high functioning ones will join their classes for certain lessons n their recess is combined. Not sure if is still the case now

I think these are ongoing, and are known as PL's satellite schools. In fact, there are more than two satellite schools.

These schools collaborate with PL on integrating their students into the mainstream environment.

They could also serve as possible options in selecting a rightful mainstream school, albeit most of them are secondary schools.

[outsider]

My DS is P2. He is crazy about maps. Read the street directory, memorized the roads, how they are connected. Roads that we have never use, he knows them too. He has super memory when it comes to maps. However, he is a forgetful boy overall.


He likes to draw maps too, naming the roads, creating road names.

Any other children with the same " hobby"?

[Double E]

My boy has not developed to that stage yet. But he likes trains and sometimes, he will memorise the train stations.


Today at Kindy, my boy put down his water bottle to take a bowl of rice from the teacher. After that, he just walked away with his rice without the bottle. When I saw that, I am like \"sigh!! forgot his bottle again\". But guess what, seconds later, he suddenly recalled his missing bottle and walked back to collect it. Praise the Lord for the little miracles

[Nebbermind]

Double E:

My boy has not developed to that stage yet. But he likes trains and sometimes, he will memorise the train stations.


Today at Kindy, my boy put down his water bottle to take a bowl of rice from the teacher. After that, he just walked away with his rice without the bottle. When I saw that, I am like \"sigh!! forgot his bottle again\". But guess what, seconds later, he suddenly recalled his missing bottle and walked back to collect it. Praise the Lord for the little miracles

It's so wonderful to read this before starting the day!

Thanks you!

[metz]

outsider:

My DS is P2. He is crazy about maps. Read the street directory, memorized the roads, how they are connected. Roads that we have never use, he knows them too. He has super memory when it comes to maps. However, he is a forgetful boy overall.


He likes to draw maps too, naming the roads, creating road names.

Any other children with the same \" hobby\"?

My friend's son has a passion for maps like yours. He not only remembers the roads, but also the buses's routes. And before he went to Japan for holidays with his family, he memorised the subway routes and stations in Japan too!

You have an amazing boy there.

[ImMeeMee]

outsider:

My DS is P2. He is crazy about maps. Read the street directory, memorized the roads, how they are connected. Roads that we have never use, he knows them too. He has super memory when it comes to maps. However, he is a forgetful boy overall.


He likes to draw maps too, naming the roads, creating road names.

Any other children with the same \" hobby\"?

One of my doter's craze is music CDs. She will listen to her favorite CD over and over again until she memorizes by heart the name of the song and its track number in the CD.

The other day we were in the car, my eldest doter and myself were commenting on one song of the CD playing in the car and we were saying that we did not know its track number. Upon hearing my doter blurted out a number. So we tried the number and it was correct!

Then I asked her the track numbers of a few more songs and she got every single one correct. My two elder doters were so impressed with her. That was one of the rare occasions where she was able to lead the conversation with her siblings, and I could see her beaming with pride.

Now I am cracking my brain on what occupation requires such a skill. Anyone who knows please let me know.

[sharonkhoo]

ImMeeMee:

Now I am cracking my brain on what occupation requires such a skill. Anyone who knows please let me know.

No need to think so hard now! Just take note that she has a good memory when something interests her. That's the case for most people, but many ASD people can be even more so. The downside is that they can be very narrow in their interests. My daughter can remember details of books and films she likes and only watched once or twice, but can forget Math formulae that we have dinned into her for the past 3 yrs!

[ImMeeMee]

slmkhoo:

No need to think so hard now! Just take note that she has a good memory when something interests her. That's the case for most people, but many ASD people can be even more so. The downside is that they can be very narrow in their interests. My daughter can remember details of books and films she likes and only watched once or twice, but can forget Math formulae that we have dinned into her for the past 3 yrs!

So perhaps can get her to work in the books and film industry next time? I recall you were saying that maybe to get her to work in a bookstore ...