Touching lives, creating value: Temasek Polytechnic CCA empowers students with special needs

When his grades slipped from almost all As to Us (ungraded) in primary school, Mr Bryan Teo felt disappointed in himself, unsure of why he was failing despite studying hard.

Mr Teo was later diagnosed with dyslexia, which mainly involves difficulties with word recognition, connecting sounds and letters, and spelling, but can also impact memory, organisation, time management and communication. This makes lessons difficult to follow.

“I really needed more time to digest (the information),” recalled Mr Teo, 24, who struggled to keep up with note-taking in school.

His introverted personality also made it difficult for him to voice his difficulties.

“It was very hard for me to share my condition because people would judge me,” said Mr Teo, a diploma graduate in information technology from TP who is currently serving National Service.

But he gradually came out of his shell in polytechnic – not only through regular group work in class, but also with support from his

co-curricular activity, SENvocates.

SEN refers to special educational needs.

The student interest group is dedicated to advocating for people with disabilities or special educational needs.

Started in 2021, the group has grown to 130 members, comprising students with and without disabilities, though it does not disclose the exact breakdown.

The group was set up by Mr Winston Wong, then a TP staff member, who has severe to profound hearing loss.

Now a Diversity and Inclusion Lead at social enterprise Inclus, Mr Wong said he wanted a space where TP students with disabilities and special educational needs can be open about themselves and their conditions. He observed that these students could be ostracised or bullied for their differences.

“I feel that a lot of the students prefer to hide, they want to blend in,” he said.

To help them integrate into the school community, SENvocates conducts disability awareness training, teaching members proper techniques to assist their fellow students. For instance, they learn safe ways to push someone in a wheelchair.

SENvocates aims not only to educate, but also to foster bonds among its members.

One of its events, Let’s Hang Out!, is held at least once a semester to bring together students with and without disabilities, said former SENvocates president Gabriel Lu, 19, who has profound hearing loss.

The participants do activities or play games that are accessible to those with disabilities. For instance, they play a version of ping pong where players sit instead of stand.

Mr Lu said that interacting with other members encouraged him to speak up more, which has helped reduce the slur in his speech and improved his enunciation.

Another event was The Hidden Stories: Unveiling Invisible disAbilities, held on Oct 5.

Ms Carine Goh Jia Jie , 20, a vice-president of SENvocates, conducted a storytelling session with another vice-president Saarah Latiff.

Expecting only a small group, Ms Goh was surprised that 60 people showed up.

She realised that she is now empowered to put in more effort to broaden her outreach.

“I realised that it goes beyond just a school, like I can go out to the community and I can do something,” said Ms Goh, a third-year early childhood development and education student.

Her course mate, Ms Latiff, 19, said that during her internship when she assisted with teaching a K1 class, she used the knowledge she had gained from SENvocates and her course to help two pupils with special educational needs feel included.

The CCA won two school awards in 2023 – the community service excellence award and the interest group of the year award.

“Being part of SENvocates has opened my eyes to so many different people and perspectives – from TP students with disabilities to advocates and community organisations working hard behind the scenes,” said SENvocates president Nathan See Yi Yew, 19, a third-year medical biotechnology student.

“Through them, I’ve learnt not only about different disabilities and the support systems available, but also how much more we can do as a society.”

In Singapore, there were about 36,000 students with reported special educational needs as of 2023, based on the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s 2024 disability trends report. The figure included only students from special education schools, primary schools, secondary schools, and junior colleges. About 80 per cent of the students were supported in mainstream schools.

Mr Samuel Wee, Director of Student Support and Career Services at TP, said: “At institutes of higher learning such as the Institute of Technical Education, autonomous universities and polytechnics, including Temasek Polytechnic, it is estimated that about 3 to 5 per cent of students have special educational needs. This includes students with physical, sensory, learning or developmental impairment.”

Mr Teo’s time spent in SENvocates has proven useful in his daily life, even during National Service.

While undergoing basic military training, he encountered a platoon mate with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism having an outburst

“Knowing how to deal with the situation, I just told him to calm down and...to walk off from the duty room to wash his face,” he said.

If not for SENvocates, he would have ignored the recruit and judged him unfairly, Mr Teo said.

Now, he has become an avid advocate for dyslexia awareness.

“I feel I am creating value, touching lives, and hopefully, inspiring others to never give up,” he said.

Correction note: This story has been updated for clarity.