Building work skills in autistic kids
Sponsored training programme gets good feedback from families
“A student who loves to eat omelettes can now cook the dish at home after we encouraged his parents to have more confidence in him.” Sharifah Salleh
WITH World Autism Awareness Day approaching in April, Ideas Autism Centre (IAC) decided to call public attention to a corporate-funded programme to build work skills for autistic youths who come from underprivileged backgrounds.
IAC teamed up with Touchngo (TNG) throughout 2023 to conduct a prevocational training programme for autistic students aged 10 to 14.
The programme ended with a gathering at the centre’s Rawang branch, where eight children were presented with certificates to celebrate their completion of Year 1 and to cheer them on to Year 2.
TNG chief corporate development officer Lum Joy Deng, who was present, said that early intervention was very important when it came to autism and this was why she wanted to help relieve the financial burden of the youths’ families.
“As a tech company, we have always been keen on financial inclusion so that everyone can contribute faithfully to society regardless of the challenges they face,” she said.
She added that TNG received positive feedback on the progress of the participants and would thus continue sponsoring the programme as well as exploring new ways to support IAC.
Delighted by the news, IAC principal Sharifah Salleh said eight more students would stand to benefit in 2024.
“We want to contribute to autism research and become a model social entrepreneur for other institutions,” said Sharifah, who is also the IAC Rawang and Nilai branch manager.
Tng’s full funding has enabled IAC to develop a unique curriculum for the prevocational training programme that is now registered with the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia.
The curriculum fosters skills in selfmanagement and handling the domestic, working, behavioural, social, academic and sexual aspects of life.
“In Malaysia, there is no special curriculum prioritised for autism,” said Sharifah.
“So, we created our own that is suitable for a wide range of the spectrum.
“IAC is also building a new curriculum for youths who do not fulfil programme entry needs, so that no child will be left behind,” she said.
Sharifah and her fellow teachers have worked hard with the students’ families to extend training into their homes.
She cited an example, “A student who loves to eat omelettes can now cook the dish on his own after we encouraged his parents to have more confidence in him, and give cooking directions in a safe and controlled manner.”
Nurulizuan Alias, 43, who sought help from IAC when his son Muhammad Izdihar was four years old, said, “Izdihar has improved his social and leadership skills. He helps his teachers a lot.”
Muhammad Izdihar, now 11, is taught under the special education programme that is part of the “Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi” (Special Integrated Education Programme, or PPKI).
He received the best student and athlete awards last year, and has now been offered placement in “Program Pendidikan Inklusif” (Inclusive Education Programme, or PPI), which means he will be learning alongside mainstream students.
His strengths include playing the piano. “According to the piano teacher, Izdihar is a very fast learner. He practises at home by using piano keys on his tablet because we do not have a piano,” said Nurulizuan.
He also expressed hope that more opportunities such as the IAC programme would arise for youths like his son.