REFLECTING 2015
Happy new year!
It has been six months since the setup of Summer's Therapy Services. Things are starting to pick up and I am feeling more settled.
I reflected and looked at where I am today and was thrown back to Year 2000 when I first came to know about the profession of Speech Therapy.
In 2000, I was an undergraduate at National University of Singapore (NUS), majoring in Social Work and Psychology. I came across Speech Therapy during one of my Social Work internship in a special school. Since then, I knew that this is where my passion lies.
Upon gradation from NUS in 2002, I worked as a therapy assistant at one of the acute hospitals in Singapore. Without the appropriate qualification, being a therapy assistant is the closest thing I could get to being a Speech Therapist, or any allied health professional. That lasted for a year and a half before I was granted a government scholarship to pursue a degree in Speech Therapy in Australia.
I graduated in end 2007 and started my Speech Therapy career in 2008. My first emplacement was at Rainbow Centre. It was a dream come true as Rainbow Centre is one of the most established special schools in Singapore. The learning curve was steep because in my four-year Speech Therapy course, there was little focus on children with special needs. I was very blessed to be under a great mentor who showed me the ropes of how it all works. I had learnt a lot during my time in Rainbow Centre, working with children from babies to 18 years old, with multiple disabilities, genetic disorders and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder.
After four years at Rainbow Centre, my emplacement was changed to SPD (then known as Society for the Physically Disabled). Besides direct clinical work with the children, I also had the experience of setting up the therapy services in their Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC). The learning journey gave me the opportunity to examine service delivery models and how we could serve more effectively. My stay at SPD was only a little more than three years.
Like most professionals in the healthcare sector, I came to a crossroad slightly more than seven years into the career. I had to choose between a progression as a healthcare administrator or to remain as a ground-level clinician. After much thought, I know I cannot bear to leave my clinical work. It may be physically tiring but yet it is highly rewarding and motivating for me. As such, I decided to venture out into full clinical work as Summer's Therapy Services.
I am thankful for the long and hard road I had taken to be where I am today. It gave me the extensive and rich experience in working with children with special needs and their families. It also gave me good colleagues and friends who believe in what I do and thus are now making referrals to me, helping me build the company.
Looking ahead into 2016 and beyond, I would like to build on the following:
I sincerely appreciate all your support and do join me in my onward journey in 2016 and beyond.
It has been six months since the setup of Summer's Therapy Services. Things are starting to pick up and I am feeling more settled.
I reflected and looked at where I am today and was thrown back to Year 2000 when I first came to know about the profession of Speech Therapy.
In 2000, I was an undergraduate at National University of Singapore (NUS), majoring in Social Work and Psychology. I came across Speech Therapy during one of my Social Work internship in a special school. Since then, I knew that this is where my passion lies.
Upon gradation from NUS in 2002, I worked as a therapy assistant at one of the acute hospitals in Singapore. Without the appropriate qualification, being a therapy assistant is the closest thing I could get to being a Speech Therapist, or any allied health professional. That lasted for a year and a half before I was granted a government scholarship to pursue a degree in Speech Therapy in Australia.
I graduated in end 2007 and started my Speech Therapy career in 2008. My first emplacement was at Rainbow Centre. It was a dream come true as Rainbow Centre is one of the most established special schools in Singapore. The learning curve was steep because in my four-year Speech Therapy course, there was little focus on children with special needs. I was very blessed to be under a great mentor who showed me the ropes of how it all works. I had learnt a lot during my time in Rainbow Centre, working with children from babies to 18 years old, with multiple disabilities, genetic disorders and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder.
After four years at Rainbow Centre, my emplacement was changed to SPD (then known as Society for the Physically Disabled). Besides direct clinical work with the children, I also had the experience of setting up the therapy services in their Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC). The learning journey gave me the opportunity to examine service delivery models and how we could serve more effectively. My stay at SPD was only a little more than three years.
Like most professionals in the healthcare sector, I came to a crossroad slightly more than seven years into the career. I had to choose between a progression as a healthcare administrator or to remain as a ground-level clinician. After much thought, I know I cannot bear to leave my clinical work. It may be physically tiring but yet it is highly rewarding and motivating for me. As such, I decided to venture out into full clinical work as Summer's Therapy Services.
I am thankful for the long and hard road I had taken to be where I am today. It gave me the extensive and rich experience in working with children with special needs and their families. It also gave me good colleagues and friends who believe in what I do and thus are now making referrals to me, helping me build the company.
Looking ahead into 2016 and beyond, I would like to build on the following:
- Serving more children with special needs and their families
- Focusing fully on home-based services, for families who have difficulty bringing their child out for therapy services
- Innovating new therapy approaches and resources
- Organising overseas community projects and providing sponsorships for volunteers who need financial support
I sincerely appreciate all your support and do join me in my onward journey in 2016 and beyond.
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| I often used this PowerPoint slide during my parent/teacher-trainings, as a way to introduce myself. Can you guess what each picture say about me? |
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