He Is So Lucky!!

I would say that from the day he was diagnosed as asd, he has been fortunate... to have so many good teachers around him, to give the necessary help, support and intervention.

First, it was Teacher Fadhi , whom I really consider her as my 'saviour'. She was first teacher who believes that Son has a lot of potential and would surely break through all the barriers. She was also the one who convinced the others that he could make it to integrated class in the kindergarten, providing his first step into going mainstream.

Then of course when he joined the Eipic , he had a nice teacher , Teacher Dewi, to come for home-based intervention program. It was from her, I learnt about the kind of therapy Son needs.

When he started classes at the Centre when it was finally opened (just a stone's throw away from our house! I can't believe how lucky we are), he had wonderful , dedicated teachers like Teacher Nora, Teacher Jitin and Teacher Nalini. I may not agree or be truly satisfied with the intervention program they provide, but I truly admire them for their whole-hearted willingness to help.

The amazing thing is he actually made it to the A class in his Primary School! He had a wonderful Male teacher, whom I initially had doubts whether a man could handle little ones. Boy , was I wrong!! He is such a dedicated teacher and most importantly, he can handle Son's temperament ! Furthermore, he has a facebook where he updates parents things done in class , even providing photos of the children while they are doing their activities. With all the information he has given, I can at least know what Son is doing in class and I can have daily conversation with him on the happenings in school.

Besides that, the school has a very experience special need officer, who is also a male! He is ever so cheerful and optimistic. He gives Son the support he needs and updating me his behaviour in school, giving me the assurance that Son will be well taken care of.

With all these special people, what more can I ask for ?

Even his friends are so nice to him. Sometimes when I go into school to give him lunch, they will come and 'complain' about him doing ' naughty ' things.. but when they turn around , they will forget every thing and treat him just like any others.... share biscuits with him.... do Hi5 with him. And I thought my dear little boy will never have friends because of his 'weird' behaviour and poor social skills and eye contact.

We have definitely been blessed all the way.... and I hope we will too till the end where we can see the beam of light .

Diamond Ring

I was reading the newspaper when Son came over and saw an advertisement on Jewelleries.

How Sweet! He said he is going to buy me one ( because I always complain Dad has never given me one ).

"But You don't have money?" I told him.

" No. You pay!" Son replied.

Ok.. I get it ... he buys , I pay!

Cute !

Sigh!!

Unexpected Incidence

Oh My God! This is the worse news and most unexpected one .. I was taken aback by a parent when she asked me if my son was PH. Immediately, I asked her what had happened. She told me that my son had kissed two girls in his class!! One on the cheek and one on the lips! I called the sno to confirm even though I know he must be the 'culprit'. Luckily , i know the parents beforehand, and they were very understanding when I told them his condition. But I was quite angry that the teacher did not inform me of the case , which I thought was quite serious.

Dismissal time, I asked him why did he do that. He said it is because he L O V E S his friends. Oh dear! should I rejoice that he finally begins to like friends, or be angry that he has done something seriously wrong? I really don't know whether to laugh or cry.. but now I have to start 'brainwashing' him another fact : hugs and kisses are only for family members , we show that we like a friend by helping and showing care.

Mummy Tape Recording has new input.

Phew! What's next?

My son and I will be VERY FAMOUS in school very soon!!!


Updated : he was fine the next week but hug one of the girls again the week after. I was so embarrassed when I had to apologise to the mother. I feel sorry for the girl too. She is a very quiet and shy girl, maybe that's why son likes her?!

Updated 2 : So far so good. Fingers crossed.

Here Comes The Challenge

I knew it ! I hope there are miracles but I know 'bad news' are inevitable.

Anyway, these are expected behaviours :

(1) touching the projector and screen and teachers' laptop.... ( That's just him! It's hard to change his curiosity over electronic gadgets)

(2) does not seem to be engaged ( okay... he knows so much already.... how can he pay attention to things that are too easy and uninteresting... talk about physics, maybe he will be sitting straight up and be ready to discuss all types of questions! Ha Ha)

(3) shouting in the hall when the waiting time is too long ( who can stand long boring talks anyway.. all students don't, just that they bear with it while my Son 'VOICE' it out.. just like the little boy in the story 'The Emperor's New Clothes' Hee Hee)

(4) refuses to do work that needs a lot of writing, crush MT worksheets and throw them away.

I have a feeling I will have a lot more white hair . The time period from 12.30 pm to 6pm is an agony. I am always on tenterhooks , fearing the phone call from the sno from school!

I have to be prepared for more..

but at least I should be thankful that he enjoys going to school ( quite surprisingly).. everyday when i ask him how is school, the answer is still 'GOOD'.

The Next Transition : Primary School

Finally, my dear son manages to go to a mainstream primary school. It would be another transition and I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed, even though I know reports of inappropriate behaviour are inevitable.

Surprisingly, he seems to like going primary school than to preschool or eipic centre. Phew! At least he does not say : I 'm not going to school. I want to stay at home forever!

Everyday, when I ask him how school is, his reply is a prompt 'Good' and even 'Excellent'.

Well, should I trust him? I think I will choose to believe him first so that I will not have sleepless nights starting so soon.

The first week is just orientation , just a lot of fun and games. So I guess it is still honeymoon period for him ( and me!) . Hoping for the best when lessons start.

According to the Sno, there are only 'minor hiccups', probably just some refusal to do a task and somtimes off focus ( I guess).

There is a Passing Out Parade at the end of the 3-day orientation. His class performed a mass dance and he performed very well. I am so surprised and proud of him.

I am hoping for the best when lessons start but I have to keep in mind that this is going to be a tough journey.

I have to be ready to persist and fight on for the best of my son!!

Is Your Son From International School

"Is your son from International School?" the workers at the dispensary in ChungHwa asked with their eyes wide opened.

"No lah!" I replied with a big laugh. "Maybe I took a wrong angmoh baby home," I added jokingly. I mean, how many kids here call their mother "MUM"? I definitely did not teach him to call me that way, but since he could talk , he insisted calling me that, and a lot of people think it is 'cute' and 'funny'. Some of his friends even copied him by calling their mothers 'mum'!

Frankly speaking ,I don't know how he got his american slang . TV programs from cartoon network, internet, educational cd-roms or is it because of the speech therapy he received? Due to his delayed speech, we are already very relief that he could now converse in English. We do not want to presssurise and confuse him further with Mandarin. But of course , we do try to introduce mother tongue to him whenever we can. So his abilty to understand and speak Mandarin is minimal and very angmoh style.

I can still remember that when he was younger he used to say that he was English. It took him quite some time to accept the fact that he is a Chinese who is able to speak English.

My girl who is a typical Singlish speaker is the result of exposing her to English and Mandarin at the same time. What more she is one who is really not very good in languages. Until now, at the age of fourteen, my god, i still don't understand what she is trying to say, sometimes! Ha.. she even tried teaching her brother to add lahs and lehs in his speech, but our dear angmoh kia simply cannot say it in the correct way!!

To the adults, they may seem to be amazed and envious that Son could speech such wonderful English with American Slang. But what about his peers? Will he be the odd one out? Will they ridicule him and think him as weird and quirky? I do have friends with asd kids having the same problem that they have been treated as "aliens" in the school and thus being bullied.

That is one of my worries when he goes to primary school.

Hi Mum

I have just given Son an old handphone. I want him to learn how to call any of the family members in case of emergency. I thought it's about time, since he will be in primary one soon. If he can call me or vice versa, at least I won't have to worry so much about losing him ! It had happened a few occasions and the anxiety of losing sight of him can kill !

I let him try calling me at home. He seems to be able to handle it but I have to remind him that the phone is only for emergency call and not for play. He seems to understand too.

We went to the library and it was the first time he was taking a phone with him. I left him at the children section and reminded him to stay put and call me if anything happened.

Barely reaching the adult section, and about to get a book out of the shelf, my phone rang! My God! It was Son's number! What could have happened?!

' Hi Mum! I just found a book on Magic .... ' he told me excitedly.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry?!

I told him to stay there and enjoy his book and would be back in a minute.

I am really happy that he is able to express his feelings to me (through a phone call), even though he is not suppose to call in the library. I had to praise him for being able to call me, but then I also had to remind him that he is not suppose to call unnecessarily in the library.

It is a happy day to rejoice a small improvement in him ! Hopefully there will be more as he grows and matures.