If there is one thing Mr Muhammad Suhairi Subarjo has learnt from his years of counselling and guiding students with behavioural issues, it is how to be a good listener.
“A lot of people tell these students they can’t do this and that. Sometimes it’s about listening to the students themselves, who are often misunderstood,” said the senior allied educator (AED), who specialises in learning and behavioural support (LBS).
At times, the students react on impulse, which can result in negative behaviour and misunderstandings, he said.
“They talk first before they think, and sometimes they can’t control this,” said Mr Suhairi, 40.
He still remembers one of his first students at Tampines Secondary School, who had autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
“I built a rapport with him, but he didn’t have a good relationship with another teacher. He felt the teacher was picking on him, while the teacher thought he was not listening to her.”
In the end, Mr Suhairi stepped in to listen to both sides and helped to restore their relationship over time.
“It takes time to modify behaviour, and that’s one challenge we face with parents and teachers who expect the problem to be quickly overcome with just two or three intervention sessions,” he said.
Now, as a senior AED (LBS), Mr Suhairi spends more time working with school leaders and AEDs on more difficult cases.
Mr Suhairi and Ms Maria Lourdes will be the first two staff to be appointed as lead AEDs (LBS) from next January.
They will most likely be more involved in the planning and conducting of professional development courses.
Ms Lourdes, 40, who is now a senior AED (LBS), said there has been more demand for support for students over the years, as parents now detect learning or behavioural issues in their children at a younger age.
“On average, I used to handle 60 students in a year, and this grew to 70,” she said, adding that building rapport with parents is a key part of the AED’s job.
“We get parents who take some time, as long as two to three years, to accept that their child has some form of special need,” she said.
“We try to understand where they’re coming from, and get them to see that with the right intervention, their child can excel academically or socially.”
She added: “Parents sometimes cannot see the long-term goals because they only see the current issues, so we have to be very patient.”
Amelia Teng