FAQs - General

1. What approach do you use in your intervention programmes?

We conduct home-based early intervention based on ‘Strengths-Empathy-Engagement-Knowledge’.

It is an in-house approach that builds on our years of experience in working with children with special needs. Under the S.E.E.K approach, elements and best practices of various conventional approaches are well assimilated into the early intervention cycle designed for your child. These may include elements of Applied Behavior Analysis, TEACCH, DIR Floortime, Sensory Integration, Montessori, Mediated Learning, and more. 

2. What do you mean by ‘an intervention cycle’?

An intervention cycle consists of 20 sessions of 90-minutes; targeted outcomes will be evaluated at the end of each cycle. A cycle runs like this:

Step 1: With the input from parents, and other educators or professionals working with the child, we establish the strengths and interest areas of the child.

Step 2: We identify goals and skills that are more critical and relevant for the child and plan the programme targeting to teach the child those specific skills.

Step 3: We build rapport and nurture a trusting and engaging relationship with the child using information from Step 1. Subsequently, we implement the activities we planned. Where possible, we involve the parents in the activities, or provide suggestions for parents to further reinforce the targeted skills.

Step 4: At the 20th session, we do a summative evaluation of the child’s learning. This helps to decide on future plans for intervention continuity (a new cycle) or fade-off (discontinue intervention).

This ensures our work is learner-centric and structured for proactive involvement by caregivers. 

3. What is the profile of your therapists and teachers?

Our team of therapists and teachers bring with them years of experience working in special schools, early intervention centers or both. We have multi-disciplinary training in child psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis, Structured Teaching and Theory of Mind.

Above all, our therapists and teachers are keen learners, passionate about what we do, and appreciate the fact that every child we work with is a teacher, who will push us to reflect, innovate and create, so as to make our time with the child meaningful. All these mean, when we plan for your child’s learning, we are scaffolding for your child’s sense of accomplishments, and not just following a fixed curriculum.

4. I suspect my child has some special needs – I’m not sure if I should go for diagnosis. Can you help?

Yes, we can. We are here to prepare children for learning and help them learn. Regardless of the diagnosis, if a child faces challenges in learning, the child needs help and should be helped. We ask that you give us some time to know your child, to understand your child in different environments, so that we can help to identify the areas that your child is facing challenges in. Then, we meet you to for a consultation on how to help your child. 

If need be, we can refer you to our professional partners for assessment and diagnosis. However, the final decision to go for assessment and diagnosis lies with you, the parents.

5. How do you keep track of what to teach my child and the progress? 

For Early Intervention:

We conduct our sessions based on an Intervention Cycle Plan which is carefully thought out and designed around your child’s strengths and challenges. We work closely with parents by giving feedback and updates in the form of written record, photos and videos. At the 20th session, we do a summative evaluation of the child’s learning together with the parents.

This is how we ensure progress is tracked in a timely manner and goals are kept relevant. We actively update caregivers so that they are instrumental towards the outcome of their child’s intervention.

For Learning Support:

Progress is constantly tracked via the student’s work! A competent and confident student will have no qualms about demonstrating his/her knowledge through the skills acquired! You can definitely expect to see an increased interest and renewed motivation in learning, as well as a more confident child.

We have seen amazing changes in our students throughout the years and this is a huge part of what drives us to keep doing what we do!

6. Do you provide School Shadowing (aka in-class Learning and Behavior Support)?

Yes, we do, subjected to the availability of the support specialists. Please make enquiries with us. 

7. How long should I commit to the intervention or learning support programme for my child?

Every child learns and progresses differently. As parents, you may also have other considerations like, enrolment into mainstream schools, care-giving arrangements, other enrichment or therapy arrangement and cost. There is no recommended age to when intervention or support programmes should stop.  It really depends on how your child is progressing and as parents, you make the final decision.

8. What is the age range that you work with?

For Early Intervention Programmes: 2.5 yrs old to 6 yrs old

For Educational Therapy / Learning Support: 5 yrs old to 9 yrs old

Our experience, resources and forte are accumulated from our work with children of the above age groups. While we are happy to give consultation to help learners outside these age ranges, we are cautious against biting off more than we can chew. This is how we ensure we do what we do best, in a responsible way. 

9. I still want to find out more about your programmes. How should I proceed?

Dropping us an email would guarantee you a prompt response, within 3 working days. Use our contact form or get in touch with us contactus@aspecialdoor.com.sg 

You may also know more about us and what we have been up to by visiting our facebook page. .'Like' us if you like what you see! 

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