Project Details

Organisation:	Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore, MINDS
Mentor:	Mrs Donna Chia; Ms Tan Chork Meng
Members:	Isabelle Teo; Dawn Lee; Jennifer Liu; Kimberly Ng; Wee Zhen Yi; Wardatun Nisaa
Project Title:	-

A. Brief Description of Project
MINDS is basically a school for the intellectually disabled. These children are not mentally crazy; they just have a very low IQ and are slower learners. What we did in our attachment was to understand the ways and methods of teaching these children and even different ways of adapting to their needs. We did so with the help of a multidisciplinary team consisting of psychologists, social workers, physiotherapists and an occupational therapist. By sitting in their classes and helping the teachers with the students and interacting with them firsthand, we gained a lot of experience. At the end of the attachment, we were expected to come up with a lesson plan for the children on topics which they were interested in, for example, we taught the kids about animals and they really enjoyed it.

B. Results

Basically, at the end of the attachment, we were expected to come up with a lesson plan for the students and implement it for a period of about half an hour. We were split into 2 groups.

Preparations:

• Before we implemented the lessons we were given various opportunities to interact with the students from both classes and more or less understand their learning capabilities before making the lesson plan for them.

Group 1: Conducted a science lesson

• Designed a science corner about animals displaying pictures of the animals and sounds that they make.
• Science corner was made very colourful and attractive so as to attract the students to learn more about the animals.
• We then taught during their science lesson with the aid of the science corner that we had made.

Group 2: Conducted a Mathematics lesson

• Designed tools to aid the students in learning numbers till 100
• Things that we made:
  • Number cards where numbers were pasted with colourful sand so that students could trace the numbers out so as to help them remember the numbers better as most of them have high sensory needs.
  • Sponges were cut out in the shape of numbers; students could paint the numbers that we asked them to and sponge them on the paper; as they traced the numbers with the paintbrushes, they would be able to remember the numbers better.

Conclusion

· It was a great experience for both groups. Initially we were nervous as to whether we would be able to carry out the lessons as planned.
· However, for both groups, the whole experience turned out to be better than expected and we ended up teaching them for about two hours instead; as for the Mathematics lessons, the students wanted to try the tools we prepared for them again.
· The students really enjoyed themselves and learned new things.
· As for us, we thought it was truly an enriching experience being able to teach the students

Many of our initial perceptions of people with intellectual disabilities were changed after we interacted with them.

C. Reflection

Three content knowledge/skills that we have learnt

1. How we can vary teaching methods so as to suit the different learning capabilities of the students
2. How it takes an ensemble of people to help those with intellectual disabilities develop and learn (e.g., occupational therapist, psychologist) Teaching the students in MINDS schools requires a lot of patience and effort. The teachers and other staff members there are very patient and dedicated to educating the students. They are always thinking of creative ways to carry out their lessons to capture the attention of the students, especially those with short attention spans.
3. How people with intellectual disabilities can contribute to society and should not be regarded merely as a burden to any society.
- Thinking that mental disability is a disease, many are not willing to interact with these children, ostracizing them. Upon getting to know the people there, we found out that these people, especially the young students, are really warm and friendly. They will never hesitate to offer a smile or a handshake, even if it is to a stranger. A smile like theirs can brighten anyone’s day.

Two interesting aspects about our learning

1. The kids at MINDS School have truly impressed us with their overwhelming warmth and love. They're like metaphors of innocence, who are not scheming and driven by cunning agendas. All they want is to be loved and accepted by society.

2. From a short lecture by the psychologists at MINDS School, we learnt about dealing with behavioral problems. Interestingly, to effectively deal with behavioral problems, we ought to start off by working on the consequences of the behavior. First, the child needs to be observed to find out the consequence that's encouraging him/her to adopt such a behavior. Take for example, a child who often spouts vulgarities. The consequence is that he/she gets attention whenever he/she does that. Such a consequence needs to be either removed or altered. One of the ways will be to ignore the child instead of reacting or even punishing the child. It has been proven that punishment is the most ineffective way of dealing with behavioral problems. When a child is punished, he/she may change for the better TEMPORARILY, but he/she may adopt the same behavior again as time passes. This is because the child doesn't see the need to change his/her behavior and doesn't know the reason for the punishment. Some may even get so used to punishments that they become numb towards it. Or, the child might behave in his/her normal way in the absence of his/her parents. Moreover, bribing will never help to alter the child's behavior, but may encourage it instead. With bribing, the child will get the idea that he/she will get something that he/she wants whenever he/she performs a certain act, and thus, he/she may do it on a larger scale the next time. Rewards should be given without 'earlier notice'.

One take-away for life

1. The understanding gained of People with Intellectual Disability (PWIDs) is one take-away for life. PWIDs are not confined to the MINDS school and neither should they be so they are all around us. Often, we experience fear when we encounter them, yet we do not have much understanding of them. The experience at MINDS with the children has opened our minds to the abilities and similarities we can draw from them and any man on the street. They can be creative, talented in arts or sports, possess leadership qualities, be independent and even display care for others.

At the same time, some PWIDs can be aggressive and stubborn, yet there are explanations why they appear so. For instance the people with Down syndrome can be aggressive. I understand that PWIDs do not have mental illnesses or so people may say.

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