SINGAPORE – When kindergarten teachers first told Mr Jason Tan that his son, Isaac, was “slower in learning”, he did not think much of it.
As a first-time parent, he assumed it was part of normal childhood development and believed his son would eventually catch up.
But the extent of Isaac’s struggles became clear in Primary 3, when formal examinations were introduced.
Said Mr Tan, a 48-year-old IT professional: “He couldn’t even pass (his exams), and that pushed us to go and find out whether Isaac had some needs we were not aware of.”
Mr Tan said Isaac struggled with English comprehension and more advanced mathematical problems. He also noticed that his son began to pluck out his own hair, which the family initially attributed to stress.
After a private assessment, Isaac was formally diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and mild intellectual disability at the age of eight.
Mr Tan said that while receiving the diagnosis brought clarity, there was also uncertainty about what to do next.
“To be honest, at the time, (my wife and I) did not know what autism really was,” he said. “We thought maybe he was just slow… We had no direction, and we didn’t know who to ask.”
Hoping that the learning delay was temporary, Mr Tan asked if Isaac could repeat Primary 3.
The school declined as he was doing well in other subjects, such as Mandarin. Mr Tan also wanted to give his son a chance to remain in a mainstream school environment, as the family was unsure about the severity of his condition.
But as the school year passed, Isaac began pacing around the classroom and showing signs of restlessness, while distracting his peers.
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