Mother of 3 children with special learning needs shares how S’pore non-profit has provided her invaluable emotional & financial support

The job of a parent is a challenging endeavour under any circumstances.

For Mrs Grace Lau, a mother of three children with special learning needs, parenting has been extremely stressful and exhausting.

Her eldest daughter, 14, was diagnosed with communication difficulties and has required speech therapy since kindergarten. Her second son, Jordan, suffers from autism, while her youngest daughter, 8, also has communication difficulties.

Finances are tight in the household. Her husband is the sole breadwinner of the family while she stays at home to devote her time to caring for the children.

Jordan’s development and well-being is her biggest worry.

Eldest son lagging behind his peers in school

Jordan is enrolled at Pathlight School, which offers students mainstream curriculum subjects in an autism-friendly environment, but his development has lagged behind many of his peers in school.

After doing some research, Mrs Lau decided that she wanted to send Jordan to an early intervention private centre to help him catch up and learn better.

Upon enquiry at some private centres, she found that the charges were hefty and her family would not be able to afford the costs for these programmes.

Mrs Lau was demoralised and at a loss as to what to do until she discovered Care Corner’s Educational Therapy Service.

The staff at the Educational Therapy Service Centre in Woodlands told her to bring Jordan down for an assessment of his behaviour, literacy and numeracy abilities conducted by their educational psychologist and he was deemed a suitable candidate for Educational Therapy.

They understood her financial constraints and assured her that they would do their best to help her with the fees.

Receiving help from Care Corner

For the uninitiated, Care Corner is a non-profit organisation established in 1981, with IPC status, providing a wide range of social services at 41 service points all over the island.

Mrs Lau enrolled Jordan to receive special learning needs support at Care Corner’s Educational Therapy Service Centre.

All educational therapists at Care Corner are trained in specialised techniques to help children with learning difficulties. They have a minimum qualification of a degree or diploma in Psychology, Special Needs, Dyslexia Studies and/or Learning Disorders Management, and have at least three years of experience in helping children with learning concerns.

Due to the family’s financial situation, the fees for Jordan’s educational therapy sessions are heavily subsidised which meant that the out-of-pocket cost for Mrs Lau for the monthly lessons at CareCorner’s ETS Centre, located at Blk 624B Woodlands Drive 52, amounted to less than S$100 a month.

Big Improvements

Jordan has been attending Care Corner’s weekly KidsReady and KidsLearn classes which are tailored for children with learning disorders like ADHD, dyslexia, mild autism and other learning or processing issues for the last two years.

Mrs Lau has seen big improvements in Jordan’s condition.

He is now able to concentrate better in class and his social skills have also improved.

Mrs Lau believes the small class size of three students to one educational therapist has really helped Jordan as he received more personalized attention from the therapist.

The small and intimate classroom setting also put him at ease.

She shared that as a parent to a child with special learning needs, she doesn’t harbour big hopes for Jordan.

All she really hopes for is that he will be able to develop independence and take care of himself in the event something untoward happens to her or her husband.

More about Care Corner

Seeing Jordan’s small but steady improvements under the tutelage of Care Corner’s caring educational therapists has given Mrs Lau hope and eased part of her anxiety.

This is why she would like to encourage parents of children with special needs to find out more about Care Corner’s learning and special needs support services.

Besides supporting children with special learning needs, Care Corner also provides social services to children and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, young offenders, troubled families, vulnerable seniors and individuals with counselling and mental health needs.

For more information on Care Corner services, you can visit www.carecorner.org.sg.

These programmes at Care Corner’s 41 centres depend on the generous donations from members of the public and corporates.

Care Corner is running the Together We RISE Fundraising Campaign. They hope to raise S$1 million to support and impact the lives of more service users like Mrs Lau and Jordan.

If you think the work that Care Corner is doing to help the less-privileged in Singapore is important, do support Care Corner in their cause to bring care to the underprivileged by making a monthly contribution.

All proceeds will go directly towards supporting Care Corner’s beneficiaries and monetary donations of S$10 and above will be eligible for a 250 per cent tax deduction on the donated sum.

This article is brought to you by Care Corner Singapore.

Top image courtesy of Mrs Grace Lau.