Hi


Anyone can share the reason for the deferment to primary 1.If the child can cope academically just the social emotional part is lacking is there still a need to defer the child ?

Have not checked in for some time… hope everyone is doing well!
DS is coping well in p1… transitioned well and he is hanging out well with classmates, have a couple of closer friends and focusing well in class.

in DS’s case, we deferred him cos of the social and emotional aspect. academically he is actually on par with peers his age. after IQ assessment, we found that he is very strong in some aspects, while weak in others – which is common for ASD/ Aspergers as they display uneven strengths in their profiles. we felt that school is more than just academic and the social/emotional is a big part which affects the academic as well. last thing we wanted was DS to be unable to cope socially and have meltdowns etc. moreover DS’s EP advised us that getting deferment is relatively easy, but requesting to stay back a year near impossible. should the child be unable to cope, the school system just bumps him/her along every year.

It really depends on your child (and to some extent the pri sch that you are sending your child to). i have few friends who chose not to defer, while some of us other mums did. In the end, it depends on our own expectations.
We prepared DS since K1 that there was a possibility that he would not go P1 at the same year like others. Currently he himself is very open to his classmates and teachers that he is a year older. Not embarrassed or upset and quite matter of fact about it. He knows himself that he is strong is certain areas, weak in others. academically he is more advanced than his classmates. BUT emotionally & socially (& physically) he is like his classmates and is coping better now as well. Sometimes he & couple of friends encountered bullying. The fact that he is more mature this year saved him quite a lot of grief… he was able to actually handle the situation and not go into meltdowns like last year. i’m very thankful to say that he has not melted down at all in p1 this year and adaptable to new situations. more than we can ever ask for…

mum2k:

Understand that there is a list of books to bring for the 1st 3 days, plus the 2 Maths perforated books to bring to school by 6 Jan.


Yesterday the teachers collected Chinese books to keep in school, but it wasn't in the list of books to bring for day 1, so i didn't pack in my kid's bag.

Today i let my kid bring the list of books for day 2 + the 2 thick Maths books. I thought the teachers will collect the books and keep in school. But the poor kid lug the same items back home, and the books are thick and heavy!

Can any mummies advise if we should then follow the list of books to bring on the 3rd day of school?

Also, dismissal for Monday onwards is still 6pm or 6:30pm?

Thanks!

Dismissal from next Monday onwards will be at 6:30pm.

Actually DS only brought Shaping Math textbook 1A & (perforated) Activity Book 1A (left 1B at home). He himself forgot to hand up the Activity Book yesterday so I told him it's due to his own forgetfulness so he should bring it again next Monday!

So far I've been sticking to the list cos it's easier for DS to read/follow the list & pack the books himself. According to both his Form Teacher & MT teacher, it's ok to follow the list and they will take in whatever books the kids bring.
Other than that, we were told to bring Math & MT textbooks everyday from next week onwards.

HTHs! First 2 days sure was chaotic

Today DS is attending P1... excited/anxious/worried/all emotions rolled up inside me. In front of DS trying to act cool but ended up sleeping little last night! hahaha... We've only started the journey so to speak since his first diagnosis at 2 years old, and starting primary education is but the start of a marathon. To be honest, DH & I have despaired so often and agonized over our choices and actions concerning son...


DS is likely to stand out a bit cos he's one year older than his classmates. Luckily he's not the tallest kid! We've tried our best to bolster his confidence and competency in his strengths, while explaining as best as we can in simple terms him being unique and different.

To all parents here, continue to jiayou! This thread has provided me with loads of info, encouragement & advice :thankyou:
Here's to a happy, smooth first day of school to the kids :rahrah:

Congratulations belachanbabe! I'm constantly inspired & encouraged by posts like yours (& all sharings by brave mummies & daddies here)


:congrats:

Double E:

Guys!

Husband and I were so exhausted yesterday. And is like all our 3 years of effort seem to wash down the drain in one Sunday.

:hugs: hang in there... you sound like you really need some time off to recharge. just wondering - when was the last time you and DH got a break/ some down time to yourselves?

not downplaying your son's meltdowns and tantrums - when our kids go off the \"deep end\", they can really raise hell! however at times, I realize that my perspective/behaviour/emotions play a part as well. when I'm relaxed and zen, DS's misbehaviour does not grate on me as much and I seem to be able to manage him better.
But when we are both exhausted, all hell breaks loose. I admit - I have screamed and ranted like a banshee in the car so badly a couple of times cos DS really pushed me over the edge :stupid: :mad: :stompfeet: :oops:

sometimes there may not be a trigger but more like their profiles are evolving. not much advice/ tips but just to take care of yourselves. when the adults are less harried, tired, frustrated and we project a firm, cool, zai stance to our kids (NT or special), they may respond in kind.
Jiayou! :rahrah:

mum2k:

Got a few questions....


(1) For boys, do they need gym shorts or normal shorts?
When i bought the uniforms during orientation, at first they gave me the normal shorts. Then another girl says it's wrong, for boys should be gym shorts.
So i just want to be sure which is the correct shorts for boys.

(2) What books to bring for 1st day of school?

(3) Does the bookshop sell shoes and socks?

1) We did not buy the uniforms during orientation - got it from Finest Fashion instead. We had bought both the normal shorts & gym shorts for DS - gym shorts are supposed to be for PE usage and are used by both girls & boys. So we are told...

2)Things/Books to bring are in the orientation file - look for Appendix C
Just in case, for 1st day of school
1. STELLAR Handwriting 1
2. 1 broad-line exercise book labeled \"English\"
3. 1 broad-line exercise book labeled \"Spelling\"
4. Shaping Maths Activity 1A (3Ed)
5. 1 medium square exercise book labeled \"Braingym\"
6. 1 medium square exercise book labeled \"Mental Sums\"
7. Report Book
8. Health Booklet (vaccination information)
9. Shaping Maths Coursebook 1A (3Ed)
10. Blue Ring File (with colour dividers) labeled \"English\"

3) Asked the bookshop aunty before - I think she mentioned that she does not sell shoes or socks. Not super sure... other mums can help?

HTHs!

hi…

to add onto Tamama’s post on IQ test.
many IQ tests around… from what I know when asking around, in Singapore, the mostly used IQ tests are either the Standford Binet or WPPSI or WISC-IV. If child is 6 and below, SB or WPPSI would be the tests administered cos WISC is for children 6-17yo.
If you google, you have rough idea the kind of format, sub-tests, matrix that constitute the tests.

CP or EPs would definitely check that the age of child matches to the norms of the tests - just double check like what Tamama says.
One thing that 2 private EPs did advise me was this: to hold off on the testing until child is older about 6yo and above. This is their and my personal opinion so NOT saying that this will apply for everyone. Couple of reasons for testing IQ later:

- Test results are only valid for 2 years. From what I understand, it’s required for entry into certain schools or for exemptions/ certain concessions, IQ test scores are not required for ASD interventions. Pls correct me if I’m wrong.

- Certain parts of the test requires child to be able to focus, pay attention etc. As our ASD children grow and mature + received intervention, several of their behavioural/sensory issues may have been worked out. This can impact on their ability to focus and work through the 2-3hr IQ test.

- DS at age 5 had many sensory issues: e.g. self-distract whenever there is a fan or spinning object, fixation on numbers and temper tantrum/ even meltdown when we want to change task/ flip page etc.
By age 6yrs 11months (we did full psych test + ADOS then), we had worked out all his sensory issues & he was able to focus and respond properly even if EP switches from one IQ subtest of numbers to pictures.

I don’t think DS’s IQ drastically improved or changed cos we did it later. But there’s no denying that testing is never truly objective - and the test scores can be impacted by so many factors: the psychologist doing test, our child’s mood that day, our children’s ability to focus, "chemistry" between P & child etc etc. Personally, I think it doesn’t hurt for us to help our children along such that they are emotionally and physically ready to reveal their potential (intelligence is quite subjective after all!). HTHs

einnoc:

Ever since DS has been diagnosed with autism, i started him on 1 occupational and speech theraphy session per wk for the past 3 mths. Though the therapists have gd feedback and said he is improving. But i don't seem to see much difference @home. I heard that some GFCF diet works for some autistic children. Anyone has try b4? While searching for Gluten free & wheat free soya sauce, i found an article on R1H2 virus and Nano Engery Booster Patch theraphyhttp://http://www.natures-glory.com/sub_NEB_details.asp?ProductSID=5540&CatSID=157 . Any parents that have already started your child on this? Any feedback?

hi,
agree with nugget - not easy program or regime to keep to...
in DS' experience it seemed to work. I kept to it for 1+ year. in fact i started it 2-3 months before therapy cos since I was on waitlist, I figured I might as well do something. At that time DS was only 2 so it was easy to remove all gluten and caesin from his diet - I baked my own bread/hard biscuits for biting, made my own pasta, switched to rice milk, made own playdough for him to play etc etc.
Within that 2 months, he started pointing (never did that before!) and seemed to be able to focus on my face longer (i was super KS then, timed down reactions and kept notes to compare). Was also aware of strangers for first times. This happened after diagnosis and before therapy started.

Pros of diet (for DS only - can't say for anyone else)
- slept better and longer through the nights. even till now, DH & I both feel that his sleep during his GFCF days were the deepest and most settled
- seemingly less cranky, smiled more often at me too (that was then.. now he laughs and smiles non-stop for a 7yo!)

Cons:
- super expensive
- whole lifestyle change. even family went GFCF. The rationale behind diet is that any gluten/caesin traces can cause havoc on the child. So it's recommended that cooking utensils, pots etc have to be solely for GFCF usage. DH & i HATED that period of time & would sneak out to eat... but we ourselves did experience very good health too. nowadays we try to do fasts & avoid wheat once in a while
- not practical for a growing child who has interactions with other children. esp if child's tastes is also established. DS at that time was mainly eating porridge so that was easy - the tough part was switching to rice milk and adding rice bran with nutrients to ensure milk was filling and nutritious.

Plenty of GFCF choices around nowadays. I would say it's no harm trying but quite tough & requires whole family to be on board. DS stopped at nearly 4yo cos by then his focus was stable and instead he seemed to be responding more to therapy. HTHs

To add: personally DS's \"improvement\" did not really happen immediately after therapy starts. It took him another 2yrs after diagnosis to speak. After which it seemed everything kinda fell into place - with spurts, plateaus and even dips... it's a continual process. Be patient & resilient and if possible, have someone continuously & religiously work with child everyday the therapy exercises. In DS's case, the consistency worked for him

Hi,

I have a relative whose baby girl (coming to 2yrs old) was just diagnosed with a rare genetic disease. It causes degeneration of motor function and child is highly likely to have a shortened lifespan. Prognosis is not promising - we have really searched the internet and there is no known treatment or cure.

We wish to find out if Eastern medical practices, like acupuncture (external stimuli) can help… at least to explore all possible options.
Any one who knows of reputable acupuncturist who has had experience treating very young patients?

You can either post here or PM me… thank you very much!

nugget:

Hi DesertWind,

Can I ask if you mean you have already enrolled in the primary school to start next year (2014) and after meeting the AED, they suggest you to defer?

Are there still time to do deferment? I am only meeting my AED on next Nov. Not too sure how it will goes.

Thanks!

If you are deferring, will this same school still kept vacancy for your kid in 2015?

hi nugget,
am not Desertwind but if I may chime in with my experience.

There may still be time for deferment. Not sure of actual deadline per se - you can call the Compulsory Unit of MOE to check. I sent my son's request for deferment quite late - 1st week of November (2012) and received call & confirmation from MOE by the following week. What is important is that there are supporting reports or documents from the ed psych or therapists stating child's need for deferment PLUS a letter from kindergarten principal stating that child has a place to study in the next year. According to the person that I called in MOE, the kindy letter can expedite process cos it shows that there is preparation at hand for the child for that extra year

http://www.moe.gov.sg/initiatives/compulsory-education/deferment/
Compulsory Education Unit
1 North Buona Vista Drive
MOE Building, Tower Block Level 15
Singapore 138675
Tel: (65) 6879 6458/9
Fax: (65) 6778 9356
Email: [email protected]


Place for child in school will NOT be kept for him/ her in the following year. Unfortunately you'll have to go thru' the registration exercise again next year. So if your child has place for 2014 intake & you choose to defer, you'll have to register again in 2014 for 2015 P1 intake.


Nothing against AEDs and I sincerely think the AEDs who have seen my son so far are great and very helpful. But I don't think they may be the best professional to help you reach the deferment decision. Reasons being:
- AEDs may only see and assess our children for a very short period of time, maybe 2hours. And it is likely their very first time meeting our kids.
- Assessment done by AED is helpful but it may not be the true reflection of our children's strengths and weaknesses.
- Education psychs or therapists who can perform more battery of tests & also observe our children more closely would give us a better indicator.


For DS, when I submitted the deferment request, I did not attach a full psychological report (this I only did it middle of this year cos he would be more ready). Instead I only submitted 3 recommendation letters: 1 from ed pysch, 1 from therapist, 1 from kindy principal.