I am actually at my laptop now finishing some school stuffs but decided to take a break by surfing around a bit. Just went to the ARC website to check out the available courses for parents/caregivers. There are a few interesting and useful courses that I want to sign up for...
I think the centre is doing a good job offering these courses to parents/caregivers so that people like myself can expand our knowledge on autism and try different ways to help our kids. I was at Pathlight School for the first time last week to attend a course. Fell in love with the school the moment I stepped on the school premises. I have volunteered at APSN (Association for Persons with Special Needs) before and I have always noticed that the special needs schools in Singapore are usually placed at old school premises. Sadly, these schools also lack proper equipment, resources and manpower.
Which was why I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Pathlight School. It was pretty big with state-of-the-art facilities. Love the canteen. It looked like Starbucks with a pond at one side and there's even a DJ console at the other side!!! Cool! I have always hoped that Rayyan will go to a mainstream school but if for some reasons he can't, well, I don't mind if he studies in this kind of environment.
Anyway, I was there to attend a course entitled 'Fundamentals of Autism'. Although I already knew most of the stuffs presented, I learnt some new stuffs and it was good that many real-life examples were given during the course. An important takeaway from the course is that having autism is NOT BAD, NOT CRAZY, NOT CONTAGIOUS. Autistic people are NOT DUMB. They are just DIFFERENT. But they are also SIMILAR to us in many ways. They have feelings too and want to be accepted in society for who they are. Indeed, the course has taught me to understand my boy better and accept him for what he is. Autistic people think differently, behave differently. That is just who they are.
Another interesting fact that I found out was that..... among normal people, 1% are geniuses but among autistic people, 10% are geniuses! That is not entirely strange considering the fact that they are so intent and focused whenever they do something. Well, it was heart-warming to see autistic people being placed in a positive light. It was heart-warming to see that they are indeed a talented bunch of people. It was heart-warming to see that they can learn to be independent and lead meaningful lives.
I have never asked for an autistic child. I did ask for a healthy, normal child when I was pregnant though. But that is life. It is unpredictable. It is full of surprises. God has bestowed upon me a special child. And I love this child with all my heart :)
