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A way with children

Ms Lim wants parents and schools to be more involved in children's therapy.
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

HER job is to help patients carry out the tasks of everyday life better.

While older patients can specify the areas they want to improve on, be it self-care, work or leisure, things can get tricky when the patient is just a pre-schooler.

"Children have their own preferences, like learning to throw a ball better," says Ms Lim Chun Yi, who is six months into her job as an occupational therapist with the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).

But parents may want their little ones to improve on reading and writing. Both tasks are important because the ability to play well can boost the child's physical development and self-esteem, while the ability to read and write well impacts school performance, she says.

Such skills affect a child's quality of life, so she has to work with caregivers or parents to decide which is more beneficial to the child at that time.

Ms Lim works with children under seven years who have developmental problems like autism, attention deficit disorders and learning delays at the Department of Child Development run by KKH at the Sengkang Polyclinic.

The 23-year-old says she knew she wanted to go into the healthcare sector after her A levels. It was through a brochure from Nanyang Polytechnic that she discovered the field of occupational therapy.

"It interested me as the job makes sense. Enabling people to be occupied with activities of their interest is meaningful," she says.

Ms Lim says she is fortunate to be working for KKH, which she had hoped for when she accepted a scholarship from SingHealth. Working with children is a dream come true for her too.

To put textbook theory into practice, observation and reasoning skills are important, she shares.

Her studies prepared her well for this, she says. Compulsory job attachments throughout her three years in polytechnic and a year in the University of Sydney exposed her to various health care settings, including hospitals and nursing homes.

Her time in Australia has also given her ideas that she hopes to help implement in Singapore, like greater involvement from parents and schools as part of a child's therapy.

Parental involvement is important, says Ms Lim, as she usually sees her charges once a week for a 45-minute session. Children whose parents work with them at home progress faster, she says.

Also, some children do very well when they are in the clinic with therapists, says Ms Lim, but are unable to do the same in the school setting.

She hopes that in future, she will be able to conduct therapy for a child in his school. She feels that teachers have to observe the child in therapy to have a better idea of how they can help.