Therapies at Sunway Medical Centre

I saw this post in draft mode, dated September 2013 so I decided to finish it.

I have just noticed that after last mentioning about the Speech & Hearing Centre in this post I have never actually provided more information or review about their services

Speech Therapy

ST is professionally executed, and the therapist is good at providing exercises and handling a child in the sessions.

However, the therapist who was assigned to us was quite young and is not patient enough to handle an autistic child. The therapist would be angry if our son started to lose his interest or begin to do something else.

As parents, we know this isn't healthy and that's not how it's supposed to be.

Occupational Therapy

OT on the other hand is excellent and to our satisfaction. This is probably because OT is usually related to some kind of disability, not only speech trouble.

Conclusion

When choosing a speech therapist, or if you're in a medical center, look for/ask for someone who is experienced in handling similar cases. Like for our case, we should have asked for someone who have experience in handling autistic children and is very patient.

Because we paid for packages, we ended up forfeiting a few sessions because we felt that the speech therapist is not helping. I can't seem to remember the total cost for each package, and I have lost my organizational skills so I am unsure where the receipts are. If I find them I will update.

- Abah

There Are Four of Us Now

It's been a while. I just do not have the time to write, because of my busy life. Trying to be on top of everything is very difficult.

So, there are four of us now. Our latest family member is a healthy boy, born during the first quarter of 2014. It is not supposed to be easy, and it really isn't easy.

Now that we have more members, it's time distinguish the boys. Let's call our first son who is autistic, #1 and our newborn, #2.

We consider ourselves very very very lucky that #1 is a loving person by nature. He loves his little brother so much, and at all times are trying to play with him (even when he's not supposed to). After reading a lot of horror stories of how autistic children treat their siblings, I was very worried.

Yes, #1 was asking for a little brother but I assumed that he can never guess or imagine what it would be like with all the attention being taken away from him.

But Mama and Abah are lucky.

#1 is, however, not very lucky. He got a little brother but as expected we can't keep up with him as well as we could before. We have less time to spend with him. He voiced it once in a while, but I am thankful that he does not show any jealousy or hostile attitude towards his little brother.

The guilt is, however, hard to ignore.

We are trying our best son #1, and we love you both oh so much.

- Abah

Anak Syurga

For those who don't understand Malay, "Anak Syurga" translates roughly to "Heaven Child".

I have never really referred to any of these kids as anak syurga, not even my son. But I do believe that God is great and just, and I don't even dare to meddle in the discussion whether or not these kids will go to heaven or to hell.

But this comment in one of the blogs owned by a parent, is really shallow and not well thought. My guess is that one of these kids had an encounter with Safuan's cat, and did something bad.

If Safuan had the time to watch a retarded (as he put it in his comment) kid tortured a kitten up to the effect of paralyzing it, why didn't Safuan (as an intelligent, non-retarded adult) take action and save the poor kitten? What makes Safuan think that the retarded kid knows what he or she is doing?

I don't know. I just think that Safuan should have just kept his smelly mouth shut, instead of making a fool out of himself.

In the end, anak syurga is just a term being used to refer to these kids, in a way to make the parents feel better about where their kids will end.

Some of these kids will never lead a normal life. They can't go to school, university, get work, get married, etc. so can't you just cut the parents some slack???

Talk about being selfish, huh?

- Abah

Sorry For Ignoring Your Comments

Hello there. As someone experienced in IT, I am embarrassed to tell you that I have forgotten to fill in the box below when setting up this blog. So, I did not know about the comments until I log into Blogger. My apologies.

Although there aren't many missed comments (maybe 1-2), they are valid comments sharing real matters. I still feel bad. So, going forward I will be receiving notifications for all your comments.

It doesn't mean that I will be responding immediately, as I would love to give back a thoughtful response. But at least they will not go unanswered for months!

Thanks so much for leaving them!

- Abah

The Long Road Ahead

Our son will be 5 this year. We have been contemplating whether or not to have another child (or more children for that matter) but we finally decided to try.

As with our son, it didn't take long for conception to happen. Mama is now pregnant, and as before she is experiencing pregnancy sickness. This time, it's even worse that there are times when I actually feel regret of impregnating her. It's not funny at all.

I should probably get a vasectomy.

A normal Dad with normal family might feel nothing when it comes to expecting a child. For them, they already have the experience. However, I am quite terrified. Friends in Facebook ask me why I am terrified but they can only try to understand my explanation.

Dear son has improved in being more considerate, independently creating artworks (paintings, Play-Doh modeling), eating using utensils, singing, humming, speaking, imagining, etc.

However he still has a lot to improve, and still requires a lot of attention especially since he hasn't been potty-trained and requires assistance to take a bath.

With Mama being unwell, I have to take on a lot of work and as an Aspie it's really heart-breaking to see Mama sick, and to push son away when he requires attention.

Due to the nature of my work, I can sometimes work from home although it is frowned upon by the leadership. During the day, I do what I can by squeezing time here and there to help out with house work. During the night, I still do what I can until son sleeps at around 1-2 AM, sometimes 3 AM.

Then I'll continue doing some of my work until I become too sleepy, and then wake up in the morning for another fresh but sleepy day.

The truth is when son is around he only requires simple attention like playing or listening to his story or explanation about what he sees. However when I am working in front of the computer it's really hard to focus and I end up ignoring him or simply responding with a nod.

It is heart-wrenching to do that.

I am unsure whether other parents feel the same way, or be able to still focus on work while responding to their children.

All I know is that I am trying my best to be a husband and father, and to provide as much as possible for the family I love so much.

- Abah