Thoughts on project

In this service learning project, we will be working closely with the Care Corner organisation and also SPARK to help the children diagnosed with ADHD as much as we can that is within our capabilities. Prior to working with Care Corner, we initially intended to work with Aspen Centre and Genesis School for Special Education but after taking into considerations the limited time that we have (due to afternoon lessons and stuff...),the travelling time and also that these centres operate till only around evening, we have decided that those centres were out of our reach and came to notice that Care Corner also offered us similar opportunities as the other centres. Now, we have basically surfaced some of the more pertinent issues and problems that they currently faced, like being unable to integrate well in the society due to poor communication and social skills, which inevitably result in their difficulty to handle academic subjects. Hence, we have decided to specifically tackle their learning difficulties by offering tuition for them and also plan activities, games that will enhance their social interaction and learning abilities. Besides the activities laid out for them, we also decided to include a mini sharing session for them to have more opportunities to speak up. The bigger idea that we have tentatively thought of was the idea of a drama for the ADHD children and members of the public to participate in which seeks to create public awareness and also in the process allow the ADHD children to have greater exposure to interaction with other children.


For this SL project, we require lots of planning and also understanding the different teaching methods to help improve their academic results. To understand the ADHD better, we have already contacted SPARK, a leading organisation that aims to raise awareness amongst the public for better understanding of this disorder and how they can help the children with this condition. The biggest challenge our group faces will be the lack of time as we also understand that undertaking a SL project requires long term commitment. Mainly because of our afternoon lessons and CCA commitments, we may be faced with the possibility of having not much time left to offer after these commitments. To overcome such a challenge, I guess that I have to work closely with a well-planned timetable so as to maximise the utilisation of time when I am present in the centre. I believe that this project will certainly benefit both me and the ADHD children and I am looking forward to an enriching and fulfilling experience with the children and organisation. I think that by the end of this project, I will be able to offer my minimal help to the society’s needs and understand more about the ADHD children and also gain perhaps some teaching skills too.

Tay Jun Xin

Wootz!

In the area of service learning, our group agreed to put our main focus in extending our help to those children facing learning/ intellectual difficulties. We done research on Tourette Syndrome and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) etc and decided to put our attention to the latter. I think it is better for us to work as big brothers to aid the DND children cope better both academically and mentally in their school life.

However, in the service learning project, we are also trying to promote awareness of ADHD by working with the Society For The Promotion of ADHD Research and Knowledge. Meanwhile, as a start, we would like to work with the Care Corner Educational Therapy Service as our centre to kick off service learning from a smaller group. The activites that the team has thought of include interactive sessions with games etc for the ADHD children to improve their learning skills (like paying attention) and understand the problems they faced in school through a relaxing and fun way. For future plans, we then brainstormed for ideas and came up with the idea of putting up a show to raise awareness besides the normal pamphlets and talks.

The first stage of our team’s plan basically is concluded. I feel that the challenge in undertaking this project is the lack of time due to school and our various CCA commitments because we understand that service learning is a long learning process before we can actually see the benefits we can bring to the ADHD children. However, it would be an enriching and fulfilling experience for me being able to help those unfortunate ones and actually make us feel good about ourselves if we could really make a positive impact to the lives of the ADHD children.

Tay Ming Yang

First Reflection

Well, I guess this actually broadens my understanding about what are some social problems people face today. We may have read about such people in special Straits Times articles, but searching in-depth has actually allowed me to realise that people may not be as fortunate as those who are interviewed and still need help in one way or another.

In this project, I feel I can be the guide in whom I will constantly be the helping hand of the participants to in our project, be it giving advice or compliments and suggestions for improvements. However, I feel that I will have to be less impatient which I am already working on and that I can be more serious at times because I tend to take things pretty lightly. I guess it will be a challenge understanding and knowing how these children behave, think and perceive the world as they see through their eyes as without that, we would be just any other person who comes to teach, does some things and goes – its all about that special touch in connecting with them, for all of us to gain from this experience.

Ng Shou Kee

First Post!

Being the leader for this project, it would definitely require more of me to lead the whole group to serving the society effectively. Initially, we thought of doing a SL project on those who are mentally-disabled e.g. Tourette's Syndrome. But however, we felt that this was not really common (as compared to America) in Singapore, thus deciding to change to the current project title: Service Learning on ADHD. We are planning to work with SPARK and ETS.

ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This usually affects children of young age and medicines are used to suppress symptoms that result of this disorder. Though these children might not notice this, parents are more worried about their future as they enter the working class. This disorder in fact, affects children academically and socially. Being in HCI for almost 4 years now, it is time we gave back to the society: all the knowledge we have gained. Besides having academic knowledge, we have to read up on primary school curriculum (since it has been revised) and also create interesting activities for them, such as science experiments. This would arouse interests in them (which may benefit them since they would need more ATTENTION for such stuff). Who knows? This might benefit them, helping them attaining a desired career in the future.

Some challenges faced could be that activities planned may not be accepted by parents. Parents may find it long and tiring for their children, thus refusing to allow children to participate in such activities. But we will discuss the positive impacts of the activities planned during a SPARK meeting, where parents are involved as well. Children may have their individual interests, thus a group activity may not work out as we thought to be.

From this project, we hope to develop our individual character, taking more pride and leadership in projects. We also hope to learn to appreciate the things we have and empathize with those who are less fortunate. Of course what I mentioned here are not all the things we learn from the service experience. Certainly, as we progress throughout the entire project, the prospects gained would be numerous and indescribable.

Jason Lim