Jack – searching

Posted on April 2, 2012 by vivien-lim

March 12-16,2012.

Ever since Jack recovered from the fever I have noticed he does not the same normal stamina as before. in the morning he seem to be distracted and lost direction. But he has a good appetite and when a child has a good appetite would you think he is not well?

He gets his daily intervention lessons, yet he seems to be lost. Across my mind, I am looking into blood sugar level in Jack. Could it be that suddenly his body is unable to maintain proper blood sugar levels, resulting that Jack looks lost and not fit? I am looking into his diet before he come to the centre in the morning. I have been monitoring him for few days. When he reaches the centre I offer him something to eat before I start the lesson with him. He seems to learn better and is not lost.

Typical symptoms of a low blood sugar level are:

Could it be that Jack has hypoglycemia.? How will we know ? Only a blood test will tell us. In the modern living, many children have a metabolism disorder, but how many parents are aware?

In term of reading, Jack is improving, though he is still far behind when compared to the normal children without learning disorder. There are no short cuts to develop and improve a learning disorder child. It is a job that takes daily effort and continuous attention.

 

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Ian – focus

Posted on April 2, 2012 by vivien-lim

March 12, 2012.

Ian keeps on progressing. When he initially signed up, he got 3 hours per day for 3 days per week. Now his parents ask for 3 hours each day for 4 days per week. His parents and relatives can see he improves each day.

His eye contact and response to the environment has improved. His is more active and interacts spontaneously. No longer so passive as he was before. I no longer believe in labeling a child when they are at young age. I believe they can all be helped to improve and get better as the days go by. His parents involvement in the early intervention has definitely helped him a lot. Early intervention is a daily therapy and each hour matters. Most of my students have learned to enjoy books. He loves books, same as Ruth or Jeft. Daily I will see Ian take my picture dictionary for fruit and animals and he flips the pages and looks into it. At that moment I will come in to intervene and communicate to him. Words like “see”, “bee”, “elephant”, “apple” are being introduces to him. He is able to say it. A few times I see he took the book to see animals. He saw the insect section and sees an ant. Ian will says “ant”. This is an active engagement to what he sees and able to relate.

I have used a lot of natural things in my therapy with these children. The whole of the garden or even the tunnel  can be used in the therapy for Ian. It provides a lot of brain stimulation to Ian. That stimulation has developed his concentration and basic speech. So as he is able to follow instructions one step at a time.

Ian used to be a child who was unable to support Rebound Therapy, but now he is able to focus in rebound. He enjoys Rebound Therapy lessons. In Rebound Therapy, Ian develops meaningful eye contact, communication, response with his environment to each bounce.

I am focusing to improve  his speech,  attention span , social skills  and his sensory processing. Writing comes later. Building his foundation for later development.

 

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Caleb – Plants

Posted on March 17, 2012 by vivien-lim

March 16,2012

Working with Caleb is an adventure. Last weekend his parents came to the centre with him at 9.30am. His father came to assemble some therapy equipment. As a therapist I told him what I want. He helped me to source for material and assemble it.

I took the chance on the weekend to trim and chop the tall plants in the garden with a saw. Caleb observed what I did.  I have to climb up the ladder to do the sawing. Caleb did not climb up. According to  his mother Caleb has a fear of heights hence he did not climb up the ladder.

Caleb using the long ruler as a tool

Caleb using the long ruler as a tool

Caleb trimming the plant

Caleb trimming the plant

After I completed my sawing, I noticed Caleb went to take a long steel ruler and saw the plants (see photos). He keeps sawing but the branches do not easily come out. Caleb went to change the ruler into a smaller tool. He starts to find ways to saw/chop the plant’s branch off. Finally Caleb manages to chop the branch off. His mother and I stand in astonishment of his determination to get what he wants to complete. He is such a fast creative learner to get what he wants to do done. I guess to most of parents when a child takes the long steel ruler, they will prohibit the child to take it as they may consider this a hazardous tool for a small child. But parents have also to consider that it is better to introduce their children to certain hazards in a controlled manner, rather than keep the child totally unaware of the many hazards in life.

 

After getting off the branch Caleb took it to the front car porch to show his father. He seems to be truly satisfied of his achievement. (photo)

Proud of a task well done

Proud of a task well done

Caleb is an active child, he hardly can sit still. Most of the people will think he is ADHD child. But what is the point in putting a label on a child unless it assists in finding a better method to discover his strengths. Caleb has also attended Rebound Therapy lessons. He is now able to sit and follow some engaging task. At the same time it allows him to explore the material.

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Ian – Positive outlook

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Vivien Lim

March 1 to 9, 2012.

The parents’ involvement in therapy for their children is very important. Daily I will receive updates from the parents about how their child behaves at home. Ian’s mother told me Ian is more positive now.

He is able to initiate a conversation, even with just a single word. One day the family went out, they pass by a public playground, according to Ian’s mother, Ian said “Play”. This tells us Ian is aware of the environment he is in. He is able to relate the word “play” in real life instead of depending on a picture card to understand the word “play”.

In my work with children with special needs, I really hope the child will not have to depend on picture cards for them to initiate the word to say. It will be better if they can integrate the word they learned into daily use. But the reality of life imposes itself: for a child which totally lacks spontaneous speech, I will have to design means of communication  according to the child’s need and ability.

Ian is more settled and focused when compared to last month. His response to his environment also improved. When I call him, he will look at me. He is also able to follow basic instruction to carry out the tasks given to him.

 

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Ruth – Learning to write

Posted on March 16, 2012 by vivien-lim

Feb 27-March 2, 2012.

Feedback from Ruth’s father. He says Ruth is able to follow the basic writing strokes at home. She is able to sit to complete the task given by him.At home Ruth’s father gave her the alphabet sheet   i  had prepared on sheets of paper for Ruth to trace.

Over here in the centre I do vision therapy and other therapy for Ruth.I also approach her father to continue vision therapy at home before Ruth goes to bed. We still work on the concept of writing for Ruth. Vertical and horizontal lines are the two lines we are focusing on, though she has been doing some diagonal lines too. I also have begun to talk to Ruth about drawing a human face since she has  little concept of the positioning of eyes, nose, ears, hair.

Ruth has improved from a girl who did not have speech but now is able to communicate meaningfully. She is also aware of what happens in the environment surrounding her. There is one morning I was doing the bilateral movement together with the therapist in my centre for a child age 6. Ruth will come over to help. She started counting numbers like. one, two , three, four etc as we were giving the therapy to that child.

Ruth seems to know what is she doing.  I ask Ruth to help me and get the brush from the shelf, Ruth is able to understand and carry out the task given. She improved each day. She now understands and uses “where”, “who”, “what”. On one afternoon after lesson Ruth will pack her bag to get ready to go home. I ask her “Where do you want to go? She replied , “Go grandmother house.”

There is no short cut to improve a learning disorder child/ child with special needs. Ruth’s family’s involvement has also helped her to speed up her learning in acquired skills. Some of the therapy skills can be carried out at home and we will encourage the parents to continue the therapy at home. Therapy then becomes an everyday matter. Success and improvement will soon become an everyday matter too.

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Caleb – adventure

Posted on March 14, 2012 by vivien-lim

March 5 to 9, 2012

Time really runs too fast. Caleb has been here with me for a month. He is such a brilliant child. He love nature. Daily when he reaches the centre, I will start speech therapy with him before I put him into the garden. In the garden Caleb likes to pick up leaves to touch and see,  he then will insert it to an outlet. Caleb, Ian, and Ruth all love the tunnel. I guess may be it is due to their spatial awareness improving.

After spending some time in the garden. Caleb will do some Rebound Therapy. Caleb is able to bounce, his proprioception also improves and he has less of a hunch back. He also can land on trampoline bed in a good position after he bounces up and land down.

Caleb also likes to put a string around his neck. If the teacher has given the children a string to use for bead threading and a child uses it for something else some will say the child abuses the material and takes it away. However when I saw it, I remained silent to observe why he wanted the string. He keeps taking the string near other children. On one occasion he took the string holding it with one hand and touching the string to a 10 years old boy’s  heart. Then it dawned on me: Caleb was not abusing the material. In his creative mind Caleb sees the string as a stethoscope. How many time we adult allow the child to complete a task and observe the way the child does it? I always believe the child has his/her own potential in growing up and we should allow the child to play with its creativity. All too fast we want the child to conform to our pre-set ideas and procedures. But isn’t it much better to just give the tools and means to the child and let it find out by itself what it can do with it?

Another example: One morning, I had a play dough play for the children. Only play dough is provided, no instructions are given. Some kids take a while to think what to do, how to do?

Play dough

Play Dough figures

Some observe their friends to get an idea of what to do. Caleb takes the alphabet shape to stencil, wood cutter, pencil, ruler, … to work with the play dough. From a therapy point of view I will say, it is a creative way to play. But others may say he abuses the materials. Caleb seems to have an oblique way of thinking: he combines different materials and tools in surprising ways and shows great creativity and fantasy. Not bad at all for a child with learning disorders!

Feedback from Caleb”s mum: before Caleb was send for therapy lessons in my centre, they hardly had the chance to sit to eat dinner as Caleb will move around in the restaurant.  But now at least he can sit to focus,while his parent have dinner.
Even sitting for 10 minutes is an improvement for Caleb.

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Jack – language

Posted on March 12, 2012 by vivien-lim

Feb 27 to March 2, 2012

A well thought-out early intervention programme is most important for a child with learning difficulties. This is Jack’s 3rd month in the centre. I provide therapies and education development for Jack to prepare himself  for further learning.

Jack has made much progress, getting more and more able to understand and use language eg: how to use the personal pronouns of “she”and “he”. Jack now knows how to use “he” and when to use “he”. One evening while waiting for his dad, both Jack and I are on a swing. In a fun way I asked him: “How do I have to address your father apart from address him as Mr. Tan”? Jack says, “Use ‘he'”. On that occasion, we  saw a young man walking by with his dog, I ask Jack how I can address this young man and Jack replied “Use ‘he'”. I ask him, “How about you and me”? He said “We”. It took a while for him to understand how to use the personal pronouns. Jack is now also able to understand when to use “is” and “are”. Jack is integrating into pre-schooler lessons. When he seems disoriented I invite him for therapy. Then he will be oriented back. Concentration is important for a child to obtain the focus to acquire new skills.

Along the therapy lessons I also noticed Jack has difficulties to catch a ball when the ball is throw about his eye level. Much therapy is done again, now he is able to cope when the ball is thrown above eye level for him to catch. At least it shows he is improving in spatial awareness and able to to command his hands to lift up to catch the ball.

There are no shortcuts to develop a learning disorder child. As he grows I continue to observe  error in his development. Then I will work on that area to make Jack better. At the moment I am working with Jack on the concept of mathematics. Despite he has attended already two year of preschool education in a Montessori preschool, Jack is still unable to grasp the concept of mathematics and isolate number and quantity.

Careful observation is the basis of all  remedial training. With every step forward new opportunities, but also new challenges, arise. That is no different far each of us. Children with a learning disorder however will need a bit more time and support to be able to progress.

 

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Milah – creation of communication

Posted on March 3, 2012 by vivien-lim

Feb 20- 24, 2012

Time  passed by very fast since  my last post about Milah in January. Her parents were very concerned because she does not talk much. Now in her second month in our centre, the environment here made Milah  to communicate  both in Bahasa Malaysia and English.

Feedback received from her father is that Milah has become more vocal. In the centre I can personally  hear she communicate in English with boys and other therapist and teacher. Definitely Rebound therapy™ has developed the confidence in Milah to express herself. Rebound Therapy™ also improves the stamina of Milah. She really enjoy the Rebound Lesson.

Since our programme is holistic we also incorporate cognitive development in reading and numeracy to prepare her for advance learning when she will be 7 years old. Milah’s ability to read and solve mathematics is improving. We are hoping she will converse more each day so as to express her feelings.

At the moment I am working on the emotional development of Milah. When she makes a little mistake and  is being corrected, she will feel sad.  It is important she learns to cope with good and bad things. She has made a nice improvement from being a timid and reserved girl to  a lively preschooler.

 

 

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Ruth – amazing

Posted on February 29, 2012 by vivien-lim

Feb 20-24, 2012

Feedback from Ruth’s father. Over the weekend Ruth had to stay with her aunt. It is the first time her aunt has to take care of her. Her aunt said Ruth is much better to integrate into her environment. She is able to tell her needs even when her parents were not with her. Her parents had to attend a relative’s funeral in another state (Negeri Sembilan),

Flag of Negeri Sembilan, a state of Malaysia.

Negeri Sembilan Flag

Ruth has to go to another state where her aunt lives (Pahang) on Saturday morning. On Sunday her aunt had to drive Ruth and sister from Pahang to Ruth’s home in Kuala Lumpur.
Amazing, she is able to eat food that is prepared by someone she  dont usually meet. Normally Ruth only eat the food prepared by her grandmother.

Ruth continues her therapy daily, Rebound Therapy is a must for Ruth to focus, then we -proceed to practi’=e vertical and horizontal line tracing. Ruth was only able to focus for few line when starting. As gradually,  she is coping better when her eyes begin to track the tracing. She has grasped (a little) already the mental concept of tracing the line. I have  put her on tracing rectangles  in doted line, then triangles in dotted lines. Daily about 6 to 8 she has to do it.

We have also begun with  diagonal line tracing. she is able to complete about 10 lines daily Though she cant trace much diagonal lines, she shows improvement as she progresses. From vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines. I have invited her to practice the letter  “T” and “t”, “V” and “v” and the big letter “A”.

Visual learning is not a tough time to Ruth , she is doing well. She reads well, she is able to talk with people when the need arises.Her tantrums are also less. She is able to read number in word and numerals. Now we are working on to understand the concept of maths. Isolation of number with quantity.

It is a great challenge to work with Ruth, we are waiting for the day she will be able to write. Her father is looking forward to that this day.

 

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Ian – eye contact

Posted on February 29, 2012 by vivien-lim

Feb 20 to 24, 2012.

Ian’s mother updated me about his response to 27 hours of therapy. According to Ian’s mother, Ian’s father said he begins to see that Ian makes eye contact when they speak. When they call Ian, Ian is also able to respond to them by turning to look at them.

His mother also said Ian is able to focus when having meals. Before Ian was send to my centre for therapy, he was unable to sit down and have his meal. They had to put something on table for him to play with and at the same time have the meal. After attending therapy session, Ian is able to sit in a proper meal setting to finish the meal and then only get down to play. I cannot imagine how to feed a child when the child cannot focus. In our society, I have seen many adults following their toddlers while feeding them.

His mother also said Ian is more responsive, his basic speech is clearer. This week I have been working on his oral speech organ development and sensory issues in respect of his speech. Ian also has Rebound session with me. In Rebound, I keep saying “Ian Jump, jump higher, higher!”. I can hear he begins to say the word “higher”.

I also suggested his mother to put Ian’s favorite food in a screw cap container. Ian takes the container and tries to open. But he failed to open it and he shows frustration. I come to approach Ian: “Ian can I help you”? I told him to say “open”, he struggles, then I say again:  “Ian say ‘open'”. He did try to say the word “open”. He was  entitled to a piece of biscuit. He smiled when I gave him the biscuit.

Now when I address him/call him, he is able to respond to me. I even give some basic instructions for him to carry out the task. The most obvious is after using some equipments the child has to bring it back to the right place. So after playing I will require him to bring it to the right place.

Ian comes for a 9 hours holistic therapy programme per week. In a few weeks he has already made a remarkable progress.

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