NEWSLETTER

By Richel Dapudong
GIS holds first SEN Workshop
On June 7, GIS hosted its first ‘Special Educational Needs Awareness’ workshop. The aim
was to improve the knowledge and skills of teachers and parents on how to work with
and/or support children with special needs in a diverse learning environment.
Mrs Gordon, Head of Primary, welcomed the invited guest speakers and 52 participants,
who included parents and teachers from various international schools in the Eastern
Seaboard region.
Dr Kwan Hansongkitpong, Clinical Director at the Little Sprouts Children's Centre
(www.littlesproutscentre.com) and President of Autism Awareness Thailand, is a clinical
psychologist specialising in child and family and developmental disorders. During the
workshop, she discussed the types and signs of learning and developmental disorders
among children and gave ample strategies for parents and teachers on how to support
them. She further emphasised the importance of early detection and early appropriate
intervention to the development of the child.
Another speaker was Rosalina Alexander,
president of The Rainbow Room Foundation
(www.therainbowroom.org), a special needs
awareness centre she co-founded in
Bangkok. Rosalina spoke about support
strategies for parents and teachers and said:
“I am here to empower parents and assist
them in starting to enjoy their amazing
children. Our children are individuals before
they are labels”, she added.
GIS invited Harshi Sehmar, Director of The Village International Education Centre
(www.village-education.com), to talk about their assessment and speech and language
therapy services.
This was a productive workshop as parents and teachers were given the chance to have
their questions answered at the end of each lecture.
Mr Richel, GIS SEN
teacher, believes that
this workshop was a
good beginning of our
journey towards seeing
schools, families and
communities accept,
support and embrace
children with special
educational needs.