Lori Boll, Erin Madonna and Matt Barker discuss all things to do with working in multidisciplinary teams.
Meet Charlotte and Brigette
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Kumaresan Muniandy is a special education teacher with a degree and master’s degree in special education. He has 10 years of special education teaching experience. At Merbok Special Education Vocational School, he trained students in vocational skills to become skilled workers and venture into the field of entrepreneurship. He also contributed in developing transition program modules for career development which was adopted by special education teachers throughout Malaysia. His expertise in the field of career transition allows him to be one of the experts in training special education teachers at Seameo Sen Malaysia. He has been given various awards such as Excellent Service Award, Outstanding Teacher Award, Innovation Teacher Award, Innovative Teacher Award and Special Education Icon Award. He has written 23 research papers related to career transition and advocacy among SEN students, as well as provided much needed training for educators, industry and the community. To see some of his work, click on the link below: https://youtu.be/0oGENqf2mx0
Charnin, also known as Ming, attends the International School of Bangkok (ISB) and is a valued member of his grade 3 class. He will be moving to grade 4 this year, has many friends and learns alongside 35 other students. He loves art, especially drawing. He is an outstanding artist and his teammates go to him for guidance and instruction. Having Ming in ISB classes, taught the school to think about differentiation in a whole new way. His presence inspired deeper thought into how students are taught, making a positive impact on everyone. Ming works in partnerships, small groups, and is more confident and proud of his accomplishments because of peer feedback. Being a valued team-member has improved Ming ‘s ability to follow directions, seek support from teammates and work alongside others on projects. Ming has had a profound impact on classroom culture. Inclusion means that all students develop social, communication, and problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to get along with others in diverse communities. Ming’s outgoing, kind, funny nature established a network of friends that exemplifies ISB’s values of respect, care, integrity and gratitude.
Sara is originally from Japan and has completed grade one at the International School of Bangkok. Sara is a little ray of sunshine and everyone that meets her or interacts with her is smiling! She is much loved by her peers, adults and anyone that meets her. She loves painting, music and dancing, playing with dolls and the iPad. Sara is quick to smile and laugh with others. She has a great sense of fun. Sara can be determined and when this is focussed on her learning, it is a big help to her. She has had a great year in first grade and has made so much progress and growth with her learning and interaction with others. Sara has had such a positive impact on her peers. It has highlighted the students ‘ kindness, inclusiveness, caring and understanding of everyone being different and having different needs.
Bee Giek Choo is a teacher who strongly believes that each and every child deserves the right to receive quality education in life.
As the Head of Learning Support at Nobel International School, she helps to ensure SEN students in school receive equal opportunities of learning as their peers. She develops ideas and training to support accommodations for SEN students which help to reduce the obstacles that impede their learning. Also, she is working to change school policy in assessing student learning for students with literacy or mathematical reasoning learning disabilities. The success of the accommodations and the change in the school policy have been a major achievement for SEN students at the school. She is now working on integrating assistive technologies in inclusive classrooms which will further benefit the students with learning needs.
Congratulations Bee Giek Choo!
Listen to Kate Balsamo, SENIA Board Chair, as she shares her progressive views on special education in international schools.
Congratulations to Seferina Engen from Taipei American School as this year ‘s recipient of the SENIA Student Award. This award recognizes a student for advocating awareness for differently abled individuals.
At a young age, Seferina was diagnosed with a rare genetic syndrome. As the doctor explained her diagnosis, she listened to him talk about neuroplasticity and her brain. He explained that with the right strategies and a lot of effort, there was nothing she couldn ‘t accomplish. Teachers supported her by teaching strategies to become organized and how to break down any problem into smaller, more manageable pieces. They taught her to have faith in herself and the learning methods that were successful for her.
Through learning more about herself and advocating for her needs she began to realize that she needed to celebrate her differences and wear them with pride. She set out redefining what is “normal.” She realized long ago it is not enough to hope society changes; she needed to bring about the changes herself””or at least try her best to help others in any way she could. She organized more than 100 volunteers to run the Hero Games, a Special Olympics for special needs children in Taiwan. She also became President of Operation Smile, an association which raises money and awareness for kids with cleft palate. Finally, she founded “Make it Shine” in partnership with a local NGO to help special needs kids explore their creativity through art and sports.
Next year she will be attending university in the UK and she will continue to pursue her passion for advocating for children who are different. In her own words: “I reject this whole label ““ “˜disability. ‘ We are not disabled and we are not dumb, we just think differently. Neurodiversity is a gift to the world, not a problem to be overcome.”
K.A. Razhiyah
Congratulations to K.A. Razhiyah from Panji Secondary School in Malaysia as the recipient of this year ‘s SENIA Advocacy Award. This award recognizes professionals whose mission is to advocate and provide opportunities to differently abled students.
K.A. has done just that! As part of the special education branch of her school, she championed the development and training of her students in Teratak Spa. The idea of Teratak Spa is to provide differently abled students with the transition to work skills in providing spa type treatments ““ facials, scrubs, massages ““ as well as developing SPA products to be sold. The students go through challenging coursework to register for their Malaysian Skills Certificate based on Modules of Spa Therapy.
The impact on the students in this program has been life-changing. “Practical, work-based learning alongside professionals and being treated like an adult can transform the motivation and aspiration of people with disabilities who have struggled in school, helping them to achieve more than they ever thought they were capable of,” says K.A.
The Teratak Spa began in the local community with students providing services for teachers, parents and fellow students. Word began to spread about the amazing services offered by the students and soon the invitations began to pore in! They began with providing services at the Mydin Mall, then they were encouraged to open a SPA booth at the Teacher Training College, Tesco, Balai Islam and on a Teacher ‘s Day Celebration for their state.
K.A. has written many articles and presented at numerous conferences about the benefits of providing students with the life skills necessary to become contributing members of society. She has received many awards both nationally and internationally for her continued work on providing students with special needs an opportunity to be employed. To this day, she continues to encourage the spa industry to find a place for her trained students and develop inclusion for all members of society.
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