Growing up, Ryan Tan never thought he amounted to much. He flunked almost every test paper in primary school and used to lash out at classmates in frustration.
But all it took was keen observation from a teacher to turn things around. Ms Agnes Poh, Ryan’s mother, later learned that he had dyslexia.
Today the St Andrew’s Secondary School student may still have difficulties learning, but his grades have improved tremendously. Fortunately for him, he has the support of his school’s Allied Educator (Learning and Behavioral Support) Kelvin Lim.
“What we did was to try to help him to understand that his behaviour has consequences, and how he should try to regulate himself through breathing. This slows him down and helps him process what he should do next,” said Mr Lim.
Mr Lim is among 500 other AEDs who provide structured support to special educational needs students (SEN) in mainstream schools. His work is very demanding but the education ministry is taking steps to attract and retain people by keeping salaries competitive, and skills relevant, through regular training and peer consultations.
“Most importantly, it’s trying to understand the reason for a child’s behaviour. This boils down to some of the framework in education psychology,” he said.
The measures to boost support AEDs come as more children with SEN enrol in mainstream schools. Figures have risen from 13,000 in 2013 to 20,000 this year (2018), and accounts for about 4.5% of the total student population.
Ministry Of Education said this is due to greater access to diagnosis by professionals, including in the early years, with services available at the Department of Child Development in government hospitals.
But creating a conducive environment for these children goes beyond a school setting as AEDs have to work closely with parents, guardians and teachers to keep them updated on the students’ progress.
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Source: Channel NewsAsia, 17 March 2018