News that her eight-year-old daughter Christa had learning difficulties was devastating for mum Gloria Pereira, but after the initial shock she became determined to make the best of it.
Spurred by the therapies and interventions she read about while caring for Christa, she became a special needs educator and embarked on further studies at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) Academy in 2014.
Ms Pereira graduated with a Master of Arts in Special Education Needs (SEN) last Wednesday (18 September), along with 66 other graduates from various DAS Academy programmes.
Head of DAS Academy, June Siew, noted that there has been increased awareness of the presence of special education needs, and educators and parents are actively stepping in to understand why students are not performing.
Ms Pereira hopes to use her degree to reach out to parents and educators and help those with special needs.
Christa once had poor social skills, but now, she is taking a Nitec course in Web applications at the Institute of Technical Education and is on track to complete the course in December – an achievement Ms Pereira is proud of.
Fellow graduate Deborah Hewes, 57, and her husband have three children, now 32, 30 and 25, who all have dyslexia.
The common struggles they face as dyslexics are in the areas of writing, spelling, speed of reading and organisational skills.
She feels strongly about support for those with special education needs and that early intervention is the most important thing that a child with special education needs.
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Source: The Straits Times, 22 September 2019