Category: Testimonies

I would like to share my experience in using this organic empowerment tool in my son’s meltdown last Wednesday.

After school, just a 10min lunch break. I had to rush him to go into my car to travel to Breakthru to attend his weekly program.  It’s a one hour drive if there is no jam.  He fell asleep when there’s 20min close to our destination.  I tried to wake him up but he’s already in deep sleep when we reached.  So I let him sleep in the car till 230pm.  Wake him up nicely n asked whether he would like to continue his program today or we drive home to rest.  He chooses to continue his program.  5pm lesson ends, we depart home.  It’s extremely heavy traffic as it is raining.  In the later part, he started to keep asking when we could reach home as we were already on the road for 2h.  His dinner time already passed.  Finally we reached home after 2.5h drive.  He immediately meltdown once went in to the house.  He cried very loudly.  I try to comfort him, first round not successful.  I knew he was exhausted.  So I quickly put on my oxygen mask.  Told him that I’m going to change pyjamas for him n offer him milk shortly as he refused to take dinner due to tiredness n his dinner time was long passed.

He cried continuously n walked into his bedroom.  He cried more fiercely when lying in bed.  I sat beside him n asked: mummy wonder are you sad?  He didn’t reply.  I repeated n told him mummy would like to help.  We can solve it together.

This round he replied: I’m tired. I want to play at home. Holiday, I want holiday, holiday. Mummy I want holiday.

He doesn’t know how to say he wants a break, but I fully understand his holiday intention.

“Mummy understands that it’s tiring to have a full day program.  How about we take a break next month.  Mummy will play with you after school?”

He stopped crying immediately.  Would you like to take your milk now? Yes.  

5min later, he is in deep sleep.

YEAY!!! Part 2

As a parent, I admitted that I have different expectations on my children other than Aqil. I would assume when they perform any tasks that they are responsible for, those are part of their duties. Thus, I would only want to know that the task is completed without any acknowledgment to be rendered. I was definitely wrong!

At times, we may have forgotten that our children (other than our differently-abled child) also need the P.L.A.Y. from us. I have tested many times that performing this strategy made my children went the extra mile to do better in the same tasks given to them. They would want to show us what they are capable of doing and achieving. Acknowledgement from us is always the reward to them too. We just need to observe (be present and listen) and YEAH! (acknowledge)! (sometimes, just lower down our expectations a little bit J). I am sure, those who had paused and looked at situations like these would agree with me J. Try it out! Perhaps, this is also important to be applied to our significant other too J!

Aqil Zaharin Feb2023_03

BEST Parental Consultation Meeting

Breakthru was introduced to me by teachers from a specially setup school for primary school-aged Down Syndrome children, whom had their trainings to deal with special needs individuals at Breakthru Enrichment Station. I braved myself to explore this new place for my 7yo Down Syndrome son with prayers in the heart for a center that would assist me in the development of my kid in his journey to the adolescent years and eventually the early adulthood. Hoping that the center would have good syllabus and methodology in managing the emotions, differing skill sets and good support at various stages of development, while having qualified individuals and safe environment for the children.

Enrolling my kid to Breakthru was an utmost blessing to my family. Aqil, my son, progresses so much in Breakthru. He loves the approaches that the facilitators of Breakthru had put together – from whole and small group activities where playing, dancing, performing and socialising being part of the activities, plus individual sessions where Montessori syllabus are conducted. Parents are signed up to take on BrainGym and Movement Based Learning courses as well; so that, parents take part in the development of the child. The inclusive methodology that Breakthru practices which involve all parties surrounding the child is one bonus point that had attracted me.

Breakthru Facilitators-Parent Consultation Meeting is something that I would look forward to. During the session, parents and facilitators share activities the child goes through at the center, set goals for the child to breakthrough in a timeframe, discuss movements and physiological methodologies that could assist the child in achieving the goals by way of improving his/her motor, cognitive and other social skills, and also as a platform to discuss challenges of all parties while finding ways to manage them accordingly.

Praying that Breakthru Enrichment Station would achieve their very best in their efforts to grow together with the children who go to the center and those other potential children who would be part of Breakthru in the future. It is a family-oriented and friendly center that any family with special needs individual should explore.

Aqil Zaharin

YEAY!!!

I still remember the first P.L.A.Y. course I attended with Breakthru Enrichment Station and Phoebe was the facilitator. Enormous information, vast knowledge and wonderful experiences were shared.

When the first P.L.A.Y was introduced, I may have looked at it as I have known what ‘presence’, ‘listen’, and ‘acknowledge’ meant! But knowing and putting it to action are totally different thing!

My son, Aqil, had his start up in early intervention program at Kiwanis Down Syndrome Foundation. I have learnt that every achievement of a simple milestone is a joy to celebrate. Thus, my family learnt positive reinforcement as early as Aqil at his three-months-old of age. Till to-date, Aqil is so used to positive reinforcement that we must, in any ways that we can, celebrate all his achievements!

As a start, let me share one short scenario. At one dinner occasion at home, Aqil had finished his meal but still laze at his chair while looking at his tablet having YouTube Upin & Ipin on the screen. His sister, Nina, told him to get his plate to the kitchen sink and wash. He had looked at his sister with an uneasy stare. Nina repeated the same request two times. Aqil finally gave a hand signal denoting “wait!”. A few minutes past, he was still at the same position. Nina repeated the request again. Aqil again gave the hand signal to wait. Until Nina did not continue to say anything and left him, he suddenly stood up and made his move to the kitchen sink with his emptied plate.

This incident taught me……… I learnt, the ‘presence’ moment was giving space to Aqil to make his move without reinforcing request denoting instruction. I learnt, that ‘listen’ing to his gestures was to ensure that we notice his request. I learnt, that ‘acknowledging’ his pace was a reward of respect for him. Wow! Indeed, every meticulous second in our action is actually precious moment to pause, think and cherish. As Aqil completed the task of getting his emptied dinner plate to the kitchen sink (although not washing it), we celebrated with thumbs up to him and a ‘good job, Aqil’ saying which denote the YEAY! In such a simple task but differently acted by our son!

Not ending this yet! I’ll tell more how P.L.A.Y. is played on Aqil’s other sibblings. J

‘Breakthru Approach with 3P.L.A.Y.’

I like the whole practical application of the entire course not only for my special need child but also for people surrounding us such as parents, grandparents and spouse.

I love the community in the class who is so willing to share their own journey for the betterment of deeper understanding of the course on different levels and different situations.

I love the breakout group discussions as i am able to meet my fellow classmates and discuss indepth with no personal barriers.

I even developed some new friendship from this class which is so awesome as i have very little chance for socializing.

Overall, Phoebe is a fantastic instructor. She is very clear in explaining and also very wiiling to let us try the technique with no judgement. She brings out the best in each and everyone in the class.

I thank you for the opportunity to learn this wonderful life changing techniques and i highly recommend this class to any parents, teachers, caregivers of any child that is facing challenges in their lives.

Mdm Lai, mother of a 12 years old son who has autism and an occupational therapist

– by Timothy, also a parent of Breakthru

This is my speech on that day.

Breakthru Family Story Day and Celebration

Speech by Timothy

Today we are here to celebrate a time together with our wonderful children as they demonstrate their unique talents, abilities and strength through their performance and presentations. This is an important part of Breakthru’s deliberate and ongoing efforts in allowing, encouraging and enabling our precious children to shine according to the abilities and continue to excel in life at their own pace.

If we believe that every person is born with a purpose, what does this mean for parents and teachers who provide care to children with special challenges? Often, we get so wrapped up in the difficulty or the problem itself that our reactions to the disabling condition prevent us from seeing who the child really is. In actuality, it is the perceptions and prejudices of other people that often prevent children with disabilities from doing well in life and participating fully in society.

Children with disabilities are, first and foremost, children with dreams, strengths, and weaknesses, and they have the right to be loved and nurtured. Somewhere in the confusing array of labels, diagnoses, opinions, facts, myths, and misinformation is a unique and individual child who has gifts to offer the world. Unfortunately, he or she is often lost in the hunt for help, the search for a cure, and the desire for relief and healing.

As a community, Breakthru Enrichment Station is seeking to reach out, accept, and be supportive of people who are suffering, struggling, or perceived as being different, not only by accepting special-needs children into education programs but also by involving them in the lives of our community. Breakthru is constantly striving to be a welcoming and inclusive place for all children as we affirm and promote our core beliefs about the worth and dignity of every child; that with the right attitude and appropriate help everyone of them can lead a life of personal worth and dignity. In our centre, children with special needs can gather strength and support for overcoming the obstacles that they were born with and those that society imposes.

However, the efforts from dedicated teachers in Breakthru alone are not sufficient in drawing out the full potential of every child. We do need and encourage the parents to play their part as well in order to see the children reaching their full capacity in life. Parents need to first accept their children as they are and equipped themselves to help the children in their growing and learning process. Children with special needs may not excel academically but they do have other abilities which parents need to learn to gradually discover and nurture in order for the children to do well according to their individual strength and gifting. Parents are also the natural role models for their children whether they are good ones or otherwise, and therefore the way parents conduct their lives have a profound and lasting impact on the children and make a great difference in their lives. So we encourage all parents to work hand in hand with us at Breakthru in order to give the best possible care and the most effective training to help every child to reach his or her maximum potential in life.

Thank you.

– A Reflection by Timothy Wong

On 3rd December 2022 Breakthru Enrichment Station held a Family Story Day and Celebration. It was a day to be cherished by all the students, the teachers, parents and friends who attended the special event. Prior to the event the students with the help and guidance of their ever dedicated teachers had been training, practicing and perfecting the presentations which they were going to give on that day. It was a challenging but also a very rewarding process.

We have the common tendency to think that children with special needs do not have any abilities or gifts to share with the world especially when what other people see in them are mainly disabilities and weaknesses. This is proven to be wrong time and again. The main issue is the lack of opportunity given to such children to thrive and to shine in ways which give them greater confidence to learn and sharpen their natural talents and abilities. Every child is born with special gift and ability. And just like any other children the specially gifted children need people and teachers who can nurture and polish those gifts in appropriate ways.

Throughout many years Breakthru Enrichment Station has been dedicating itself to enhance the ability of special needs children to grow and progress in life according to their individual gifts and strength. Through their story telling presentations the students have shown that given enough guidance, efforts and practices they can do a decent job to tell a story or any other assigned tasks. Sometimes they did struggle, forgot their lines and had to overcome the fear and nervousness of facing a live audience. Some of them had to be guided, assisted and given helpful promptings or hints by the teachers. But all this are nothing unusual and even children who are considered normal are also facing the same challenges while doing the same thing. And happily all the children were able to accomplish their tasks in presenting their stories.

Some of the students were also given the tasks to introduce their fellow students as the little masters of ceremony (mc). Doing different tasks especially new ones with sufficient guidance are the proper way to build confidence in the special children. And this means that new opportunities must constantly be given to the students to do new and various duties and assignments rather than for caregivers to be overprotective with them by shielding them from doing things they should learn to do by themselves.

The responsibility of helping and developing the potentials of special need children does not rest on the shoulders of the teachers alone but also on the shoulders of the parents as well. I am sure parents who attended the event were very much encouraged by the performances presented by the children and the dedication demonstrated by the teachers. Parents should also be encouraged by the speeches given by some of the guests about never giving up on their special children but to continue to do their part to help their children reaching their true potentials.

Being a parent myself and one of the master of ceremonies (mc) on that day I had the privilege to closely observe the conducts of all those involved and the reactions and responses of the members of the audience and to experience the feelings of excitement, of encouragement and hope the storytelling event gave to everyone. It was truly a day to be celebrated and remembered.

– by Yashnevathy

這一週哥哥情緒還是很不穩定,感覺的他無時無刻想要黏住爸爸,在這之前因為家庭因素我們讓他暫時停課了接近一個月的時間,

(more…)

In conjunction with the Mid-Authum Festival, the facilitators in Breakthru Enrichment Station once again  taught the children how to make mooncakes during the gourmet class on 26th August (Thursday). This time they were making the jelly mooncakes. The children were encouraged to explore their hands on making the jelly by mixing the sugar water with raw liquid jelly before inserting the readymade filling into it. It must be a fascinating experience for the children.

There are basically 3 ways to learn how to accomplish a task during the session.

1. By listening to the instructions on how to do it (oral instruction) for auditory learner

2. By watching the teacher or instructor doing it for visual learner

3. By doing it (direct involvement) for kinesthetic learner

Children will learn something by listening. They will learn more by watching. But they learn the most when they try their hands on doing it themselves. Again, their products may not be perfect but they gain the most knowledge and experience by doing it and the experience of doing it will be retained in their memory for a long time.

So getting the children to be directly involved in the learning process is crucial. However, in almost all learning situations there are children who have hyperactivity and those who are withdrawn and passive. But the facilitators in the gourmet class were doing a great job in ensuring that the overeager children were appropriately handled  and the passive ones were encouraged and prompted to take part in the process by taking turn to do it.

One effective way I observe the facilitator did to encourage children who were hyperactive by inviting   them to fold their arms, breathe and count to 10 as a way to get them to wait for their turn to take part in the activities. I found it interesting because I saw that even my restless son Tristan was willing to do this and wait for his turn to get involved in the learning process. Indeed Breakthru Enrichment Station not only staffed by facilitator who are devoted to the children  but are equipped with necessary skills to help the children in the whole learning process.

Breakthru Centre organised an outing for the children to Animal Garden Serdang on 19th August.

Most children love animals. That is what we adults usually think. However, today’s children especially those who live in the city do not get the chance to interact with animals, even common domestic animals like dogs and cats, on a regular basis. Just a generation ago the children then especially those who grew up in the rural and semi-rural areas got the opportunity to live quite closely with dogs, cats, chickens, even larger animals like cows and goats. So today’s children mostly are not familiar with animals except for what they see on TV and read in books and get to know their names, and for many children particularly those with special needs they don’t even know the names of the less common animals.

And depending on their backgrounds they may view animals in different ways. They probably learn about animals from their parents. If their parents want to discourage them from touching animals or playing with them they probably learned from their parents and believe that animals are dirty or even dangerous. All these inputs from the parents of course do not paint a fully accurate picture about animals. Some children probably saw that animals are cute, but they might have been traumatised by bad or negative encounters with animals. My son Tristan, when he was younger, used to like to touch little dogs and especially cats that we saw on the street. But there was one time a dog turned aggressive against him and probably attempted to bite him. Ever since that experience he became very afraid to get near to dogs and even cats.

So I was happy to see that, during the trip to the animal garden in Serdang Tristan attempted to and did touch some of the animals especially the rabbits and enjoying himself being near other animals rather than being very guarded against them. I hope this outing brought a breakthrough to Tristan and other children who had a traumatised experience with animals in the past in their ways of relating to animals in the future.

I could see that all the children are enjoying the experience of getting to see the animals very closely and I believe it benefited them very much. At the very least they got to know, hopefully, the names of various uncommon animals or to identify them like the capybaras (the rat lookalike animal from Amazon jungle) and prairie dogs (which are not dogs at all but actually are rodents). Or that they learned to differentiate porcupines from hedgehogs from guinea pigs something which even we adults are struggling to do.

The younger children are mostly like Tristan being excited and eager but at the same time reluctant to touch the animals even though some braver ones did it and even fed the birds with seeds and the sheep with bread. The older children generally have less problems touching some of the tame animals like the rabbits, the huge parrots, or even the goats and the ponies.

I personally believe that exposing the children to various kinds of animals is important in increasing their knowledge about life. Of course, they need to be reminded that some animals are indeed dangerous in different ways and it would be wise to not get too near to them. But there are also animals which are tame and friendly and I learned that animals are used to provide therapies to some people, both adults and children, with special needs. And I will never forget an interesting advice given by a stranger to me some years back when Tristan was still small but we were already worried about him not speaking at all. I was sharing our concern in a particular gathering and after the gathering an elderly man came up to me and said, if you want your son to start speaking, easy, just get a puppy for him and he will start talking to the puppy. The old man then left and I never saw him again but I have always been remembering his words and wondering if he was being serious with what he said and whether it would have worked or not.

Due to logistical problems for my family like having to move from one location to another especially during the pandemic we never got the chance to act on that particular advice and never found out what would have happened if we had bought a puppy for Tristan. But there must be something special about some domesticated animals in their ability to help people who are under stress or having special needs.

I think it was also helpful that during the visit to the animal garden every child was being closely accompanied and guided by an adult or a much older student. This must have given confidence to the children to get closer to and learn about the physical build up and the behaviour of the animals. Again, the dedicated teachers and staff of Breakthru were very focused in ensuring that the children had a safe and fun experience with the animals. Hopefully, at the very least, the children have learned and changed their outlook on animals in general, that not all animals are dangerous but that some of them can be very cute, friendly and playful.

Timonthy Wong – Tristan dad