By: Joanna Ambrose
Beyond coping with the shock of the diagnosis and making decisions for intervention, parents of special needs children face several unique challenges; one of which is the unfortunate realisation that mainstream education does not fully accommodate children with special needs. Khairul Ramly, the founder of Headstart Academy knows these feelings and challenges all too well as the parent of a special needs’ child.
Grappling with reality
Khairul’s own son, Khayr Ayden, was diagnosed on the spectrum back in 2010 when the family was living in Singapore. Determined to ensure as fulfilling a life as he could for Ayden, Khairul and his family embarked on the hunt for an early intervention programme that catered to Ayden’s needs. He discovered the Saint Clare School for Special Education which implements an Individualised Education Programme (IEP) that identifies each child’s skills and needs and provides personalised special education services. Through this personalised programme, Ayden saws improvements in several areas of his development.
However, upon returning to Malaysia, like many parents of children on the spectrum, Khairul was struck with the reality that intervention for children on the Autism spectrum in our nation is focused mainly on early intervention. Scouting through several schools and intervention centres, Khairul was unable to find a school that offered comprehensive therapies to prepare Ayden, who was by then 8 years old, for school and life beyond. In addition to that, the existing early intervention centres were simply put, poorly maintained and in Khairul’s eyes, did not provide the adequate support that his son needed.
Taking charge
While most would begin to feel helplessness at the predicament and uncertainty of their child’s future, this only further spurred Khairul towards a new mission: building a path into adulthood for Ayden and other kids like him so that they could get a head start. Having seen the positive impact that the IEP model at Saint Clare’s had on his son, the idea sparked within Khairul to establish an intervention academy with the same premise – a child-centric personalised curriculum to develop each child’s potential and abilities. Thus, the Headstart Academy Malaysia was born.
“Parents of special needs children don’t have a wide choice of schools and the point here is to create the choice. Starting the Headstart Academy provides parents of special needs children with another alternative for intervention programmes that creates a more personalised programme for each of their children. We want to create a benchmark for what private special needs education should be. We want to disrupt the industry and drive competition to increase the quality of special needs education out there.”
Headstart Academy provides a premier early intervention programme for younger children with special needs utilising a proven international curriculum that is delivered by experienced, fully-trained academic staff with a passion and an invested interest in what they do. Khairul says, “The way the business was set up ensures 30 percent equity is divided between the team. I wanted my team to have a stake in the business to give them ownership over running the business. I believe in empowering your staff to believe in your business and feel part of it, that’s what drives a business.”
Building towards that goal, Headstart Academy offers an immersion programme before enrollment to ease the transition for both the special needs child as well as the family. It is also an opportunity for parents to assess their child in the academy environment at the academy so that they can be comfortable with their decision to (or not to) enroll their child. For two to three weeks, the child attends classes to ensure the academy is a good fit and is evaluated by three different therapists – Behavioral, Speech and Occupational. Teachers and therapists then sit down with parents to discuss the child’s development and progress before enrollment.
Leading the way
The flagship Headstart Academy spans over 10,500 square feet of space specifically designed for special needs’ children. It boasts a 2,000 square foot Occupational Therapy Gym with a rock-climbing wall and other equipment more impressive that most gyms in typical schools. Other premium facilities catered to engage its students include therapy rooms, dedicated areas for arts & crafts, music, dining and changing rooms/toilets. There is also a Snoezelen sensory room, which is a controlled multisensory environment designed to deliver various soothing stimuli to the senses using lighting effects, colour, sounds, music, scents.
For now, the Headstart Academy is focusing its efforts on early intervention. In the long run, Khairul plans to take Headstart into its second phase by introducing a programme for older children. The programme will not only highlight academic skills, but also include a structure where special needs’ children can learn vocational life skills, structured play and address their sensory issues. Khairul adds that his vision is to see Headstart Academy become a franchise for quality private special needs’ education for all ages and hopefully someday, build a full-blown school for special needs’ children.
“I wanted to start a full-on school to cater to older children, like Ayden, too. I wanted to build a place that I would want to send my own child because at the end of the day, it’s tough for any parent to say that their child will never be typical or do things that typical children can do. I’m not an educator but as a parent, I know how important it is to have a place where your child is happy.”
However, an assertive entrepreneur, Khairul is aware that Headstart needs to establish its credibility within the industry and demonstrate that its model works, before any plans for expansion take place. “I wanted to start a place that’s marketable and could become commercial in the long-run. Down the line, as we expand, we look forward to collaborations with the state government and other partners.”
As Headstart Malaysia opens its doors next year, Khairul says he plans to extend its role by engaging the special needs community through outreach programmes. As of now, Headstart currently sponsors space for the Autism Café Project at its lounge area where families can enjoy food and drinks served by special needs youth. Further down the pipeline, Headstart plans to offer its space for community programmes as well as sponsor PPKI classes in their impressive gym.
The Headstart Academy will be organising its first open day on Saturday, 15 December at 11am in the SACC Mall in Shah Alam.
For more information do visit their website: https://headstart.my/
