Last week was a very exciting week for us as Hilary, Farhan, Marina and Amanda were a part of the International Workshop of Special Needs Education 2011, organised by the University of Malaya. Hilary was also one of the speakers, with her presentation entitled ‘Language: An Important Key in the Learning of Mathematics’.

It’s great that this workshop had taken place in Malaysia, allowing professionals and researchers from the field to network, learn from each other and share ideas. It’s also a good way to keep abreast of the emerging research and techniques.

We’re looking forward to having our own sharing sessions at Hils and see how we can put some of our newly found knowledge into practice!

At Hils, our approach has always been to address the individual child’s needs. Our teaching methods, learning environment and interaction with the children all cater towards this. We’ve often been told that Hils is just…  different. This isn’t entirely surprising, since we’re here to help children who themselves, learn differently!

At our very first Homeschooling Parent Support Group Meeting last week, one of the things that the parents had discussed was ‘Why Hils is Different’.

Here are some of the things that were said:

‘Kids are happy to come, learning becomes FUN! Hils has the awareness, understanding and empathy.’

‘Individual learning is a gift. It can reinforce a child’s confidence.’

‘Understanding that children have their own strengths, which are not sometimes demonstrated in a standard classroom situation.’

‘Learning through play.’

‘No fear- for parents and children.’

‘Quiet environment with no distractions aids concentration.’

‘Hils looks for the cause of the problem and helps rather than merely overloading the child with information they cannot cope with.’

‘Specially taught tutors who can understand how the child’s mind works. The teachers have more time to concentrate on the child.’

‘Thinking outside the box- looking at other issues in relation to learning.’

Published this year Philip Schultz’s personal journey with Dyslexia is a must read for any parent or teacher of a child with a learning difficulty. This short book captures the essence of learning differently and the effects that has on the individual. In Philip’s words,
“I never meant to be annoying, forgetful, delayed, overwhelmed, and dumb-sounding and -looking. I never wanted to be made fun of or anger my teachers or keep an entire class late because I didn’t understand a concept. But that’s what often happened as a consequence of my learning disability.”
A thought provoking read.

The recent workshop by Michelle Garcia Winner has made us realise that some practical application for parents might be useful. In light of this, Hils Learning would like to invite you to an evening dedicated to bringing social thinking into the real world. We will be using case studies and role-play to develop Michelle’s ideas further and to explore practical solutions for some common, everyday situations.

Date:  Thursday, 29th September 2011

Time: 7.00-9.00pm

Price: RM50 (snacks and drinks will be served)

Venue: Hils Learning

To register, please call Lina at 03-6203 0029/012-307 6590 or email enquiries@hilslearning.com.

Only one day till the long awaited Social Thinking conference with Michelle Garcia Winner and we’re all very excited!

We’re also delighted that Mr. Teh Beng Choon, Chairman of the National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM) and Council Member of the National Council for People with Disabilities, will be opening the conference on Friday.

Looking forward to seeing you there!