I Survive Raising a Special Needs Child and Here is How I Did It (by Jasmine Ong)
With the current rise of special needs and how we manage to include them in our society, I, as a single mother of a special needs child, must admit that the journey is tough. There were days I felt like giving up.
My child was diagnosed with ADHD at the tender age of 2, shortly after I separated from my spouse. Honestly, I felt lost and desperate, as I pinned my hopes on my child and didn't know what to expect or how to guide him. My son had a speech delay and didn't speak a full sentence until he was 4 years old. While attending preschool, he also attended therapy.
The journey during that period was very tiring, and I felt despair as I didn't know how he would turn out. As a mom, every mom wishes their child grows up happily and healthily.
I refused to give up; I enrolled him in a normal stream primary school. It was challenging. During Primary 1, I shared his condition with his form teachers; however, as he grew up, his teachers changed. He was always labeled as a naughty student due to his condition, such as walking around in class and interrupting when someone talks. Receiving calls and complaints became very common, almost like a routine.
The teachers didn't ask or question why he was behaving in such a way. His results were always one of the top in class. Sadly, I had to endure this routine until he was in Primary 3; he slowly mellowed down and became more self-controlled.
Many people tend to assume that special needs are the end; it's not true at all. I thank my son; he taught me a lot. He scored 217 for PSLE and went on to a Normal stream Secondary in the Express class. Though it's not a wow score, I told him that as long as he did his best, whatever score we would deal with it.
He is more of a Mathematics and Science student. He chose Pure Mathematics and combined Science with an additional subject, electronics. During his O Level, he dropped his Chinese, as he felt stressed with Chinese and never had a liking for it since young.
I was surprised that after he dropped his Chinese, his score still allowed him to make it to JC if he wanted to. He decided to go to Polytechnic and got into his first choice, Aerospace Electronic. He joined the Singapore Youth Flying Club and had to undergo a psychological test to prove he was fit enough to fly a plane due to his condition during his young age.
The psychological test was very detailed and revealed traces of ADHD, although his IQ and EQ were very high. After the psychological test, it depended on CAAS to determine if they would clear him to fly. Fortunately, he was cleared and managed to fly until he passed his first course; he had to give up due to school commitments and the commitments required by SYFC.
If your child is going through this speech delay or ADHD journey, don't give up. These children's learning is different; even walking in the mall, they can learn. Though they walk around, they are listening and paying attention. Continue the necessary therapy and constant check with the teachers' feedback. Do take the feedback positively and think of ways to help them improve.
My hope for him is to continue chasing his dreams, and in the future, he will be an inspiration to those who follow in his footsteps.
Written by Jasmine Ong
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