ADHD - Where What & How (Pengalam Kami) Part 2

Wotehmeyon.. I had difficulties introducing this fella to Iman as he rarely saw one in real life. I encourage you to bring your children out to pasar or gerai yang jual buah. Show them how the fruits/vege really look like.

Moving on dari entry saya terdahulu (baca di sini ya) .. ni sambungannya. In my last entry, I am glad Hanis left a short comment and Oren also. I am no millionaire to donate much in monetary term. I can only share what we've been and still are going through. I am glad and thankful, even if there's only a single person can benefit from it.

Again, please be reminded that what we've done (and still are doing), may and maynot work with other children. But no harm trying right. Please don't come and tell me 'hey, why you tell this and that and it didn't work with my child' This is solely based on our experience. It work on Iman so far. It may work for other children. And it may also not. Kawan, tiada yang pasti 100% dalam dunia ni.

Okay, continue.

Saya diberikan contact number Pn Sariah Amirin. Siapa beliau? She's the Presiden of Persatuan Dyslexia Malaysia. Selepas a phone call, cerita ceriti serba sedikit, kami putuskan untuk mencuba hantar Iman to one of its centers. Testimoni dari seorang ibu yang anaknya sama-sama di taska dengan Iman, memberikan sedikit sebanyak 'light at the end of the tunnel'. Benar, Iman tidak dyslexic. At least at that point, he was not diagnosed for dyslexia. We were assured that they also take in children like Iman, non-dyslexic albeit the name 'Persatuan Dysleksia Malaysia)

Bacakan perasaan 'lega' saya dalam entry ini. Lega akhirnya ada satu benda baru untuk dicuba. Waktu ini saya baru setkan appointment dengan Pn Sariah untuk buat assessment. Assessment di buat di PDM (Persatuan Dyslexia Malaysia) Center Titiwangsa. Bacakan kisahnya dan finding-nya di sini. Semua ni berlaku dalam bukan February 2011. Mulanya kami nak tempatkan Iman cepat-cepat tapi banyak urusan cuti dan sebagainya yang belum selesai. Oh ya, PDM buat short courses 3 bulan untuk ajar membaca in BM and BI dan Math. It is not a taska so takde lah kelas Fardhu Ain, kelas ngaji dan sebagainya. In fact, it caters for all regardless the age. Ia lebih melihat kepada keupayaan, bukannya umur. Jadi jangan terkejut jika kelas 'beginner' adalah campuran anak-anak berumur 4, 7, 9 dan 10 tahun. Kesimpulannya, kami dapat tempat untuk Iman bermula Julai 2010 untuk 3 bulan i.e. Julai-September 2010. Kelasnya 5-days-a-week (Monday-Friday), 8.30am-12.30pm. Paling senang dan terdekat dengan kami ialah PDM Ampang Hilir. Paling dekat, bukan bererti dekat. Ampang Hilir dengan Cheras berjarak 20km. Mengharung traffic jam pagi-pagi hari bukanlah perkara yang best kawan-kawan, 20km tu makan masa paling cepat 45min (peak hour) Paling lama pernah tersangkut, lebih 1 jam! Kawan, hidup perlu berkorban. Faktor masa dan keadaan kami yang dua-dua bekerja 9-5 menjadi satu isu. Setelah berbincang, salah seorang kami perlu bercuti untuk menguruskan Iman. Tak perlu fikir panjang-panjang, saya calon terpaling amat sesuai.

Setelah benar-benar pasti Iman dapat masuk PDM Ampang Hilir bermula Julai 2011, saya jumpa GM dan menyatakan hasrat untuk bercuti panjang. Alhamdulillah dia faham dan akhirnya pada 7 May 2011, beliau telah menurunkan tandatangan keramatnya (chewah), pada borang permohonan CTG (Cuti Tanpa Gaji, bukan Cardio Toco Graph yer). Baca entry saya pasal tu kat sini dan bagaimana borang saya terhilang dalam entry ini. On 1st June 2010, application saya diluluskan. Alhamdulillah.

Isnin, 5 Julai 2010, bermulalah kelas Iman di PDM Ampang Hilir. He was in group 'beginner' and was assigned under Teacher Sharifah. In PDM, kelasnya tak ramai student. Satu kelas cuma 4-5 orang saja. That explains kenapa anak-anak kita kena Q untuk masuk kelas di PDM. Smaller class, tumpuan juga lebih. Bayaran pendaftaran RM50, yuran bulanan RM450 termasuk sekali makan. Buku-buku kalau tak silap ingatan, dalam RM30. Bacakan kisah 1st daynya di sini dan 2nd daynya di sini. Not forgetting to mention Iman's first crush dengan Sofea, his classmate. Read here. Jatuh cinta sebab Sofea bagi dia sticker gambar burung.. hurmpp.

While Iman was attending PDM Ampang Hilir, I got to talk to other parents. Ada yang dah lama kat situ, ada yang 2nd time hantar. Ada yang anak berumur 5 tahun, ada yang mencecah belasan tahun. It was an eye-opener experience. Kawan, jika berasa kita susah, sebenarnya ada orang yang lebih susah dari kita. Ada one parent, mungkin ketiadaan kenderaan, atau mungkin tidak boleh memandu, saban hari menghantar dan menjemput anaknya dengan teksi. Kawan sekelas Iman (beginner) ada yang berumur 9 tahun. One particular fren, bought a 2nd hand Kancil and hired a driver untuk tujuan hantar-jemput. As I was sending one child, some parents were sending 2 of their children. Bersyukurlah (bukan bermakna kita perlu riak sebab kita kurang masalah) Of course there's people who walked around in LV one day and Gucci the next day!

Anyway, hasil dari conversation, we were advised to pindahkan kes Iman dari private practices ke goverment hospitals. Katanya it'll be easier to deal with other government agencies in future (with Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, Kementerian Pelajaran etc, if need be) if we have proper documentation (Psychiatrist's findings, diagnosis, recommendations etc) from government hospital. Since we're in KL, we were told the best 2 options are HKL and HUKM. HKL is the best but after considering factors as queueing time, location HKL di tengah-tengah KL, we opted for HUKM. Shorter q-ing time and much nearer to where we live. Yang ini, I'll continue in other entry on how to go about registering your child at HUKM.

Let me share how I taught Iman about colors. When he was 5 or 6, he still didn't know colors. Yellow, green, red.. let alone other colors like pink, light blue, deep red etc. I bought many books on colors but back then he was not a book-person. More of action-learning type.

Here's a box of basic color pencils that I've used to teach him yellow, red, green, blue and purple. I associate every each color with something. Yellow with kubah surau nearby our house, green with leaf, blue with one of his toys and purple with grapes. First mula-mula memang limited to that 5 colors and 5 that things. Later, yellow as in potted flowers that we had back then, green with bakul kain or his little underwear, purple like his favourite yoghurt drink blueberry flavour and my tudung. I didn't use book, I used this color pencils. Ambik satu warna and ask where did he see that color. I started small. 5 colors only. I gave him few weeks to digest.

those are red, green, purple and yellow. and my desk is beautifully conteng-ed!

Later on bila dia dah grasp that 5 colors, I bought him this Kumon book Let's Color. Slowly his vocab and knowledge berkembang to black, white, orange, pink etc.

this is actually book no 2 under the same tittle

red like apple. cili.

And later on when I noticed dia ni (and Kakak and Adam too) suka menconteng, mewarna and melukis, I bought them more crayons, color pencils, color pens, water color. Of course at times Adam went overboard and conteng dinding, kerusi, langsir, meja etc (pengsan?) In a way that encourages skills as well (part mewarna, bukan skill membuat mural kat dinding) like the right way to hold a pencil and we can teach them to draw circle, square, oval and whatnots. See, we're already talking about shapes!

colors!

more colors!

some more!!

Just my one note of hope to parents out there with child of similar case - Jangan terlalu banyak beralasan. Takde masa, takde duit, takde pengetahuan. Takde masa, cuba chip in 10-15 minutes only a day. Sekejap tapi konsisten. Takde duit takpe, kita boleh buat teaching-material sendiri, tak perlu beli. Takde pengetahuan, boleh google info di alam maya. Jangan serahkan 100% kepada cikgu tadika or whoever teacher. Chip in your effort as well.

Cincin Kerawang for Sale

For sale jugak.. 4.26gm. Saiz tak ingat tp boleh tengok gambar bawah ni untuk agak-agak berapa diameter.

Cincin Cantik for Sale

For sale. Harga emas today is RM190/gram. Am selling it tad bit lower than current market price. Interested? Email me aa.rozilawati[at]gmail[dot]com

Oh ya, saiz 13 ya.

Selamat Hari Jadi ke-10

birthday cake

birthday girl

Hari ni birthday Kakak ke-10. Big One-Owh! Big girl she is now. I now have to prepare myself for the next phase, teens!

We had small celebration last Saturday tho her birthday is today. Al-maklum lah working days ni tak boleh jamin balik rumah cepat kan. On Saturday, we had ample time. Beli cake from Secret Recipe, apa nama tah, tak ingat. The one that has stawberry layer between slices of cakes.

Iman dah order cakes for himself and keeps on asking if November is still along way to go (his birthday is in November) while Adam pulak kept on singing Happy Birthday to You for 2 days kat Kakak dia.

Happy Birthday Kakak. May you have blessed life ahead.

Edisi Terima Kasih

:: Thank you to CMC - for the farewell gifts (and makan-makan-do!)
CMC is my previous office. Lama jugaklah kat sana, since July 2004 sampaiiilahh July 2011. When I first reported duty, I was pregnant with Iman. That time ofis kat Bukit Mahkamah. The in 2005/2006 CMC moved to Menara and later in 2007 we moved again to Annexe. Not taking a year leave into calculation, 6 years I was in CMC. I had 2 GMs and 3 immediate supervisors. In CMC, it was a love-hate situation but let's not dwell on what supposedly be a history by now. I met greats people there, whom later turn to be friends until now.

Thanks for the Ariani. I would not go and buy any Ariani myself! The color is soo me, I'd say. And thank you for that Happy Birthday frame (eventho on my birthday, I am no longer in CMC). Flaming red, sangat matching dengan dinding my cubicle. It now sits proudly on the table. I made sure the date is well visible to everyone hi hi.

:: Thank you Achik - for the souvenirs from China
Achik is my SIL. She was the first Tebby's siblings that I met before we got married. Achik is always kind enough to get every each of us something whenever she goes anywhere. While I might just buy one thing for one family! She went to China and got us these..

:: Thank you my ex GM En Salam - for this kurma Safia Yusuf Taiyoob.
En Salam was my ex GM in CMC. He's the one who approved my one year leave. I am indebted to him as not many bosses are willing to grant such approval. When he asked me if I was to be posted elsewhere, I felt obliged to accept.

Sapa Mau Tolong Kak Mon Cuci Rumah?

my first maid was like this in the beginning.. cergas. pastu cergas jugak cha-alip-but..

I am looking for weekly weekend cleaning-service. Harap-harap ada yang sudi servis sampai area ai. Address ai tu walaupun 'Bandar', pada hakikatnya adalah agak kawasan kampung jua.

So far dah jumpa 2 ajer..
1. http://www.merrymaids.com.my/ - dah hantar email mintak quotation
2. http://www.parttimemaid.com/ - RM250 for 4 kali seminggu, 4 jam sekali datang

Actually I'd prefer bayaran per trip dari yang hourly. Kalau caj for 4 hours, dapat lak yang datang tu lemah gemalai nyer jenis, mau 2 jam baru siap cuci toilet aje kan. Kalau per trip ni, kelentung kelentang la sampai siap. Dengan keadaan my house sekarang, mau depa nangis dulu depan pintu sebelum masuk :D

Anymore other than that 2? Let me know ya. Kalau boleh yang buat ironing sekali. Kalau tak iron pun takpelah. Ai kasi En Dobi kedai kat depan nun ironkan. RM1 selai. Kalau baju sekolah 80sen ajer. Ai know sebab ai dah mula memunggah baju sekolah anak-anak ke kedai tersebut jua :D Ada capping bajet.. maksima RM20 a week. Dalam 20 lai. Ada certain things ai admit ai cerry-wet, this is one of them. Apart from the usual shirts, blouse, baju kurung, pants, ai pun akan meng-iron sluar sukan, tshirt, saputangan dan sebagainya. Kalau kain baju kurung tu, sila jangan main tipu iron belah bawah je, belah atas tak iron. Semua mahu licin okay. Gigih tak gigih, sampai button temperature control iron ai telah tercabut. Tu nasib baik ai dah berenti iron sarung bantal.

Iya, ai admit ai malas nak buat semua tu. I'd rather spend some money outsourcing all those and have more time dengan my family than having to mop, scrub (and nag).

Hidup perlukan pengorbanan kawan. Terserah kepada kita nak korbankan yang mana.

New Office & Iftar 2nd Ramadhan 1432H

As some you of might have known, Kak Mon dah bertukar (rather ditukarkan) ke unit baru. This new unit is among the many units under the same division. I am still doing more-or-less the same scope of work but still meeting and dealing with fimiliar faces, some of whom I've known as far back as 7 years. One or two that I've met on my first day reporting duty (That's 14 years ago!)

my new cubicle. flaming red, still. pretty clear for someone who's been working for 14 years eh?

'virgin'-calculator yang masih berbungkus. i am using veryyyyy much less of it now. no more billions

I am now dealing with HR matters, which makes me getting hundreds of emails each day. It is much simpler and easier than my previous tasks but.. well. Here's the analogy. Previously I need to cook a full spread of nasi minyak. Nasi minyak, with its gulai, sambal and acar, for 10 people. Now, I am trusted to just cook nasi minyak, without its gulai, sambal and acar but for 500 people! Analogy also revolves around food? Pinch me! Thinking back, somehow this is like having my prayers answered, 18 years later! When I did my degree, I got a scholarship from T*. I had wanted to majoring in HR but T* directed me to do majoring in Marketing. When I took a year leave last year, I thought it'd be nice to do HR after I came back. If you ask, I still do not know if I like it here or not. Still too soon to tell. But it is sure not as cold as my office back in Tingkat 14.

Now back to puasa thingy, yesterday, we took off from the office at almost 6.00pm. Fetched the kids, beli mi kat kedai depan nun, sampai rumah at 6.45pm. In the nick of time nak azan Maghrib, barulah siap Mi Goreng and Chicken Wing ala India. Washed down with a pot of Teh O panas and cold apple and orange juice. Simple aje kan.

It is stressful that this year, on 3rd Ramadan, we have came to the point 'tak tau lah nak berbuka dengan apa' - despite all the excitement and plans we had. Maybe it's the age factor (older people eat lesser food? No?) or maybe in all the other months tu, nafsu makan adalah godaan syaitan semata-mata? And now that all the godaans are not here, we are left with just our own nafsu. Kot? This pre-dawn tadi, me and Tebby had roti canai segera, Iman had megi with telur (dari semalam mintak) and Kakak had Mi Sedap. Not good tapi itu ajelah yang membuka selera. Hurmpp.. Hope to see a more vibrant ensemble on my dining table after this.

1st Ramadhan 1432H

Salam Ramadan! Alhamdulillah masih ada rezeki kita berpuasa bulan Ramadan tahun ni. Jom tambah amal ibadat. Jangan culas-culas ber-terawikh. Kalau rasa liat bangun prepare sahur tu, ingat-ingat pahala yang menanti. Uruskan rumahtangga pun ibadat jua..

Unlike the past 2 years, this year takde bibik. Domestic helper, yilek. Means I have to carefully plan and manage my time. And unlike last year, this year I am back working. Means, limited time to spend kelentung-kelentang kat dapur for iftar. And probably very simple sahur as well sebab pas sahur nak bersiap-siap ke ofis pulak. No time to scrub many pots and pans. (I will not leave things dalam sinki before going out, other than 1 or 2 small things like sudu or cawan).

Apalagi la kan, wiken lepas giat betul mengupas, menyiang, memotong, memerap (perap makanan yer, bukan memerap tidoq), memblend, merebus dan sebagainya. Ini semua bagi mengelakkan huru-hara kat rumah nanti. Punyalah bergiat kat dapur, sampai lupa basuh kasut sekolah anak ha ha. En Suami went to Pasar Kajang on Sunday, katanya ramaiii lah sangat orang. As if esok-esok dah takde jual ikan. Cakap orang, we all pun sama heh heh.

I did few thing in prepation untuk seminggu nyer iftar/sahur. Marinate ayam 3 jenis (ala Cina, ala India, ala Melayu <-- i tak racist taw.. memang dalam buku resepi tulih gitu) and one type of beef marinate. Ikan tak perap, just apportioned them into one serving in each bekas. Also potong-potong ayam and daging, ready as perencah nasi or mee goreng.

gigih melabel bagai ha ha

As for sayur, we stock up timun, incase tak sempat masak sayur. Kalau ada masa, we'll do sawi and kailan. Sayur ni pun selalunya maknya aje yang makan (despite all ceramah kepentingan makan sayur :P). En Suami is very selective when it comes to sayur. In fact he is selective of his food. Unlike wifenya yang mengketedarah je apa jua asalkan halal.

Baru je bagitau En Suami that I would not blog so much about food bulan-bulan puasa ni. See.. bad bad me.

Anyway, since Iman is 7 this year, we've been coaxing him to fast. In fact for the last one or two weeks, we've been orientating him on the importance of fasting and what to expect should one fasts. Semalam was his first day. Thank God, Alhamdulillah, getting him up for sahur was easy peasy. Getting him to eat his sahur was also easy peasy. Part yang susah ialah menahan si Adam dari menayang-nayang makanan depan Iman. Semalam, at 11.45am, he succumbed to hunger and break-fast. Boleh lah kot, as a first-timer kan. It could've been much later should Adam tak makan aiskrim keladi depan Iman *sigh*. And today, on the way to Atfal Sayang (taska) he announced 'hari ini saya cuba bertahan' tak boleh tahan ayat si Iman ni hi hi. Gambar bawah ni masa sahur around 5.00am. Gambar lagi bawaaah tu pulak 'buka poser' jam 11.45am :D

Semalam was a very simple iftar of Ikan Bawal Putih Goreng, Snow Pea+Egg Tofu and Mushroom Crisp (cendawan goreng guna tepung tempura, tapi nama cam kelasssss la konon kannnn).

Err... food again? Someone please spank me..