What made you want to work with the special needs community?
My interest in working with the special needs community was ignited when I volunteered at a SPED school at the age of 17. I was truly inspired when I saw the children making progress. I was honoured to be able to share the joy of their accomplishments even though it was small steps each time. After a few years of volunteering, I made up my mind that I wanted to make a difference in the lives of children with special needs. I started off as a shadow teacher and subsequently had the opportunity to take on different positions, such as a teacher for an integrated kindergarten, an early intervention teacher and currently a certified educational therapist. It brings me a lot of happiness to be able to reach out to children with special needs and their family members.
In your years of work, what have you learnt most?
I have learnt that motivation is very important. We have to always cheer on the students to achieve their goals but we have to also ensure we know when to push and when to pull back. In addition, I realised that it is not only me teaching the students, but they have also taught me a lot of things as well. Every student is unique with their own personalities and challenges, therefore I have to always try new ideas and continue learning.
