Education in the City: Covid-19 and the New Normal for Children with Special Needs

The Office of Education Research (OER), in collaboration with the National Library Board, hosted another Education in the City public talk on Monday, 13 July 2020. Usually held at the NLB building, this talk was delivered online as a result of the current global pandemic. The webinar attracted a turnout of over 50 attendees.

The theme of this instalment was themed “Covid-19 and the New Normal for Children with Special Needs”. In this instalment, speakers provided participants with tips and advice to help children with special needs cope with the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Asst Prof Sylvia Choo, a paediatrician at the Department of Child Development at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital,  started the session presenting on the effects of Covid-19 on infected children in Singapore and how the virus is transmitted. She shared that parents can help children understand the pandemic better by having open communications with them. She also added that videos or drawings are effective visual tools that parents may use to help with the communications.

Asst Prof Sylvia Choo giving the presentation on “Covid-19 and the new normal: What does it mean for my child with special needs?”

Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon,  Associate Dean of Education Research and Co-centre Director of the Centre for Research in Child Development, shared on the topic “Making the time spent at home with your child with special needs count”. In his presentation, he mentioned that changes implemented in response to the pandemic have diverted many responsibilities to the parents, from the role of a care giver to an educator. He shared practical tips on how to manage these responsibilities and what a parent can do to make interactions with their children become learning opportunities, especially for children with special needs.

Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon giving the presentation on “Making the time at home count”

The talk concluded with a question and answer session moderated by OER Research Scientist Dr Shaun Goh. Some of the questions posed included communicating with special needs children and how teachers can better support special needs in classrooms.

Group photo with Dr Shaun Goh (top left), Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon (top right) and Asst Prof Sylvia Choo (bottom)