LCCS Journey With Sameer

How did my journey with Sameer begin?

Sameer*, 22, a youth offender serving his sentence in the Changi Prison, was sitting alone in the room. Tattoos covered almost his entire body. He was waiting to meet me, his ‘My Journey’ facilitator. Upon entering the room, I smiled and shook his hand. After ten minutes into our conversation, he suddenly asked, “What do you think of me?” He paused, concerned if I was affected by his tattoos.

Sensing his discomfort, I replied in a light-hearted tone, “Hey Sameer, I am fine with your tattoos. I am happy to see you today. I’d like to introduce to you this new program called My Journey.” He then nodded his head and began to feel more at ease with me. At that time, I had no inkling that his tattoos were not just merely modern decorative body art, but its designs and symbols were indicative of his past journey with a secret society indulging in drugs and perpetrating violence.

Why was Sameer incarcerated?

Sameer was incarcerated for about two years for drug offences and violence. Early in his life at the age of 17, he was hooked on drugs and soon became a drug addict. He also got himself involved in gang related activities. One day while he was at home, he became violent after consuming some drugs and ended up beating his mother, who later called the police. He also hit one of the police officers when he came to arrest him.

How did Sameer repair harm and restore relationships?

By participating in the My Journey program, Sameer was given the space to talk about his feelings of sadness, anger and shame for causing harm to his loved ones, particularly his mother. As the journey progressed, he began to reflect on how he could restore his relationship and to rebuild trust with them. After Sameer journeyed with me in this program for about two months, a restorative conference/support circle was convened inside the prison.

On this important day of restitution, Sameer had the opportunity to have meaningful engagements with his family members and people who had cared for him over the years. They included his biological and adoptive families, a former school teacher, a befriender, a counsellor and prison staff. As Sameer knelt before his loved ones and apologised to them, participants began to tear as they could feel the sincerity expressed by Sameer to repair harm and restore relationships. The sight of both mothers, biological and adoptive, hugging their son, forgiving and loving one other brought so much comfort and encouragement to the group.

He then began to talk about how he would like to rebuild trust with those affected by his behaviours. He listed some goals to achieve for the next six months, which included getting a job to support his family, having a strategy to remain drug-free, taking up a hobby and volunteering in community work. To help Sameer achieved his goals, participants would act as his community of care and started to express their support by listing the kind of help they would like to provide him to ensure that he would succeed in achieving his goals.

What made the My Journey program a meaningful outcome?

The My Journey program allowed a series of engagements between Sameer and people in his community of care to process their feelings, provide closure on the past and provide their support for Sameer to keep him on track. At LCCS, we advocate administering Restorative Practices (RP) among inmates through the My Journey program. The program aims to break the cycle of hurt, restore relationships and rebuild trust so that every inmate can avoid reoffending and be reintegrated into the community as a responsible citizen who contributes to society and the nation.

Note: Client has given consent to this article. The name has been changed to protect the confidentiality of the client and family. 

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Augmented Reality Books For Toddlers Age 2 With Autism Spectrum

What's the most ideal way to teach an autistic child to read?

In this video, I will go over what autism is, the several ways autistic children learn, and how augmented reality is bridging the gap for autistic children.

Many children with autism have a problem with learning to read and write. One of the best ways to teach an autistic child to read and comprehend the alphabet is augmented reality. But let's first discuss what is autism.

What is Autism?

Autism is a disorder that brings about abnormal behavior. It is commonly found in children and not always easily detected based on the seriousness of the disorder.

What are the different ways kids with autism learn?

Youngsters with autism learn in a different way than other children. They learn best by means of visual cues, repetition, and physical activity.

That is where Augmented Reality Technology comes in. It helps to Bridge the gap in educating an autistic child to read.

Augmented reality is an exciting way to bridge the gap for children with autism because it helps both visual learners and auditory learners.

AR technology uses sound effects and computer animated characters, creating an entertaining learning experience for kids with autism, which assists with their reading skills and comprehension difficulties.

Augmented reality books can be used as an alternative therapy for helping children diagnosed with autism spectrum and who have problem with reading and writing.

One such book is "Angel's Awesome Alphabet Book" by author Angelique Marshall. The book makes use of augmented reality to help children learn their alphabet letters.

The Alphabet book pages come alive with sound effects, voice narration, and animated characters when used with our AR app. This enables the user to see what they're saying while listening to them say it.

The Alphabet book has been created notably for those individuals who have a problem with understanding language or comprehending written words.

It offers a unique opportunity for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to interact with the text and images using speech and visuals simultaneously.

FAQ about Teach an Autistic Child to Read

How Does Autism Affect a Young child's Social Skills?

Children with autism often battle with social skills such as eye contact, understanding facial expressions, and making conversation. They may also be not able to understand what other people are saying, and they may have trouble articulating themselves. Consequently, little ones with autism may find it challenging to interact socially with others.

How Does Autism Affect Communication?

Little ones with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty understanding other people's inflection and intentions. This makes it hard for them to communicate effectively. They may also have difficulty with direct instruction.

How do you teach an autistic child to concentrate?

Teaching autistic children to focus is very difficult because they don't comprehend when others say "focus." They may also be unable to tell you how they really feel about something. Having said that, teaching them to focus is imperative for their future development. But there is hope, with the help of new modern technology such as augmented reality. With AR, young children's books can help instruct your child to focus and make reading more fun and interesting.

augmented reality books for learning disabilities