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The competition was tough for Haziq during the ASEAN Para Games in December 2015 . He was the youngest participant amongst all . Nevertheless , Haziq had an enjoyable experience , learning from his mistakes . He felt shaky at the starting point but stayed focused on the race and kept running until the end . He reminded himself , “ I overcome my fear and never give up until I reached the finish line .”
Haziq has good memories of going out with friends , training and watching movies together . He does miss his teachers , particularly the ones who gave him support and were kind to him over the years . He said , “ I still keep in touch with Ms Shen Peiyi and Ms Tamil Selvi .” He also misses the canteen food , especially the nasi lemak from the Malay stall .
I Am Just Special …
Aden was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum
Disorder ( ASD ) when he was three years old . He was enrolled in the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children ( EIPIC ) programme .
When he was five years old , we tried to enrol him in a kindergarten at various locations near our home . We were turned away as most of the kindergarten principals mentioned that they do not have the resources to support his learning needs . They were worried that , in addition to his slow development in gross and fine motor skills , he would be disruptive in class and will have difficulty integrating into the normal education curriculum .
We were eventually referred by KK Women ’ s and Children ’ s Hospital to enrol him at Presbyterian Community Services childcare centre in Ang Mo Kio where they had the Intervention cum Education ( ICE ) programme to help Aden integrate into a kindergarten class with normal children . Aden underwent ICE and emerged a different child . He was compliant and not disruptive in class and more
His class teacher in 2015 , Mrs Joyce Chua described Haziq as being responsible and well-mannered , respected by peers and teachers . Ms Shen , the discipline mistress ( AM ) said , “ Haziq is a motivated leader . He is always willing to accept constructive feedback and learn from his mistakes . As a prefect , he was responsible and helpful toward his fellow mates . He assisted me in training the newcomers in various duties . He was resilient , diligent and constantly wanting to improve himself .’’
Haziq would like to motivate others with special needs with these words of encouragement ; “ Concentrate in class , focus on what you are doing . Study . Never give up when you fail , try again and again !”
Story by parent of Aden , PCS Ang Mo Kio Childcare
willing to socialise with other children . He integrated smoothly into K1 and is currently in K2 . He has since gradually improved in his social interaction skills .
We are indeed grateful and fortunate to have enrolled Aden into the ICE programme . It is because of this programme that he is now having lessons with normal children . His progression and improvement resulted in us having confidence to enrol him into a mainstream primary school . This would not have been possible if there were no support for his special education needs . It is through the hard work and dedication of the ICE teacher and childcare teachers that Aden is now able to integrate into the normal education curriculum .
“ It is through the hard work and dedication of the ICE teacher and kindergarten teachers that Aden is now able to integrate into the normal education curriculum .”
Inspiring Lives Beyond Services