| Lyna Mohamad |
SEVERAL parents of children with special needs spoke to the Bulletin yesterday during the graduation ceremony hosted by the Special Education Unit (SEU) under the Ministry of Education (MoE).
Haji Ariffin bin Haji Suhaili said there has been some marked improvement in his son, Faid, who initially studied at SMARTER Brunei before being enrolled into Sayyidina Ali Secondary School.
“For someone who hardly speaks, Faid now is able to speak a little with some confidence; as a parent, I am really grateful for this positive development,” he said, adding, “I am also indebted to my son’s teachers who continuously supervise and monitor his development, and have provided great support to encourage and motivate him.”
Nursinah binti Mohd Kassim who drove all the way from Kuala Belait yesterday with her husband expressed pride in her daughter, who has shown some positive improvement since entering the Pre-Vocational 1 class at the PGGMB School in Kuala Belait.
“I have no complaints about the care given to my daughter who has Down Syndrome,” she said. “Despite her condition, she is very independent and does not give any trouble.”
Nursinah’s husband told the Bulletin, “When my daughter is at home, she does things on her own such as ironing her clothes, tidying her room and cleaning the house – and all this is done without her mother’s supervision.
“At school, she is also independent, and there are times when her teachers need her help in persuading her fellow classmates to attend class or to do their duties.”
Nasir Javed, an expatriate who works at the Ministry of Health and has been in the country for the past 14 years, spoke of his daughter who is a Year 11 student at Sufri Bolkiah Secondary School.
“Despite her mild dyslexia, she is an intelligent girl, and her memory is better than mine,” he said. “She has problems in reading and writing, but having supportive teachers helped her to improvise; and Alhamdulillah, she is doing all right.
“She is also independent in all her daily activities. We also had a religious teacher to come over to give her lessons in Al-Quran recitation. Alhamdulillah, she can now recite from Al-Quran independently.”