Both of us on childcare leave today...nope, none of the kidz is sick. Today, we brought Aqil for his psychological assessment. This is necessary for he is entering Primary One next year.
An assessment report is needed for entrance into special schools. Well, the assessment is also to find out the child is suitable for the mainstream.
Aqil was alone in the room with the psychologist. We were 'shooed' away and given a questionaire to complete. Haha! It was akin to taking a test. Both of us answered the questionaire together. ;))
Going through the questionaire, Aqil is indeed missing lots of his milestones. After 'taking the test'...we even had time to have breakfast at the cafeteria. All that took us abt an hr or so...we had to wait for about another hour before the assessment ended.
The psychologist called us in and conveyed to us her findings. Her explanation was very detailed...she told us what she did and what were Aqil's reactions and responses. And her recommendation : special school.
I was actually glad to hear that. I was kinda worried that the psychologist may suggest that Aqil try the mainstream coz he was previously diagnosed with mild autism.
Behaviour-wise...he is stable such that he doesn't experience frequent meltdowns. But following instructions was a bit of a problem. His motor skills such as holding pencil or spoon is very much lacking.
Hence the psychologist gave us recommendations of some special schools...not all are suitable for autism. And I even realised that Pathlight caters to mainstream curriculum. But the psychologist advised against Pathlight for Aqil coz he may not be able to cope. Special schools do IEP (Individual Educational Plan) for pupils. Not just academic subjects but also lifeskills to equip them with...something which Aqil really needs.
And so we have registered for the Open House of several special schools...a new journey for our lil one.
An assessment report is needed for entrance into special schools. Well, the assessment is also to find out the child is suitable for the mainstream.
Aqil was alone in the room with the psychologist. We were 'shooed' away and given a questionaire to complete. Haha! It was akin to taking a test. Both of us answered the questionaire together. ;))
Going through the questionaire, Aqil is indeed missing lots of his milestones. After 'taking the test'...we even had time to have breakfast at the cafeteria. All that took us abt an hr or so...we had to wait for about another hour before the assessment ended.
The psychologist called us in and conveyed to us her findings. Her explanation was very detailed...she told us what she did and what were Aqil's reactions and responses. And her recommendation : special school.
I was actually glad to hear that. I was kinda worried that the psychologist may suggest that Aqil try the mainstream coz he was previously diagnosed with mild autism.
Behaviour-wise...he is stable such that he doesn't experience frequent meltdowns. But following instructions was a bit of a problem. His motor skills such as holding pencil or spoon is very much lacking.
Hence the psychologist gave us recommendations of some special schools...not all are suitable for autism. And I even realised that Pathlight caters to mainstream curriculum. But the psychologist advised against Pathlight for Aqil coz he may not be able to cope. Special schools do IEP (Individual Educational Plan) for pupils. Not just academic subjects but also lifeskills to equip them with...something which Aqil really needs.
And so we have registered for the Open House of several special schools...a new journey for our lil one.
And later in the day we brought the kidz to the movie including Aqil! Hehe! Yup, it was Aqil's first experience watching movie at the cinema. We didn't dare to bring him before coz he can't sit still for too long thus how to sit through a 2hr movie right?
The Lego Movie...we thought it was suitable for Aqil as in intrigue him to watch. But we tried to play safe by choosing to go to a less crowded cinema.
Was happy when we entered an almost empty theatre...but soon more started coming in. Luckily most of them were students...they were kinda noisy too so it will sort of camouflage any sound frm Aqil shld he made any.
As soon as we stepped in...Aqil suddenly became dazed. He was good...no crankiness but he was literally silent throughout the movie! Haha!
Maybe it was the darkness that 'shocked' him? For the first hr...he was practically sitting straight, refusing the lean back even though we tried to make him. He was looking straight at the screen...this made both of us looked straight at him...haha!
As mentioned, he was quiet throughout the movie. Occasionally he covered his ears when there's loudness...not cranky though. We took turns to hug him as an assurance everytime he did that.
I was feeling quite bad when I saw him covering his ears...maybe he is not ready for cinemas yet...suddenly felt like a bad mummy.
However...as we were leaving the theatre, Aqil kept looking back at the screen as though unwilling to leave.
It was indeed an experience for him and also for us. In fact, Ariq & Arisya were surprised too when we said Aqil was joining us.
Alhamdullilah the movie time went smoothly...Ariq & Arisya enjoyed the movie of coz...laughing out loud oblivious of the people around! Hehe!
Its always a learning journey for us...especially for Aqil. No matter what, we'll stay by him throughout his lifelong journey...insyaAllah! ;))
The Lego Movie...we thought it was suitable for Aqil as in intrigue him to watch. But we tried to play safe by choosing to go to a less crowded cinema.
Was happy when we entered an almost empty theatre...but soon more started coming in. Luckily most of them were students...they were kinda noisy too so it will sort of camouflage any sound frm Aqil shld he made any.
As soon as we stepped in...Aqil suddenly became dazed. He was good...no crankiness but he was literally silent throughout the movie! Haha!
Maybe it was the darkness that 'shocked' him? For the first hr...he was practically sitting straight, refusing the lean back even though we tried to make him. He was looking straight at the screen...this made both of us looked straight at him...haha!
As mentioned, he was quiet throughout the movie. Occasionally he covered his ears when there's loudness...not cranky though. We took turns to hug him as an assurance everytime he did that.
I was feeling quite bad when I saw him covering his ears...maybe he is not ready for cinemas yet...suddenly felt like a bad mummy.
However...as we were leaving the theatre, Aqil kept looking back at the screen as though unwilling to leave.
It was indeed an experience for him and also for us. In fact, Ariq & Arisya were surprised too when we said Aqil was joining us.
Alhamdullilah the movie time went smoothly...Ariq & Arisya enjoyed the movie of coz...laughing out loud oblivious of the people around! Hehe!
Its always a learning journey for us...especially for Aqil. No matter what, we'll stay by him throughout his lifelong journey...insyaAllah! ;))
