June 2015 Newsletter | ELG | Help children with special needs in China

As we wrap up the year, we find ourselves reflecting on how we’ve grown and improved over the past months. We’ve expanded community of experts this year, and we are able to better match families with the best professionals to support them. We have also implemented a new system to make sure we’re offering the best support possible.

The Innovative Learning Center, the only special needs alternative education program in Shanghai, has gone through some major changes as well. This year, we have successfully implemented program-wide themes and a great family support program. We’ve also hugely improved our admissions process to make it easier for families. We are very much looking forward to next year and the new positive changes that it will bring.

We’ve had a great year. We hope you have too, and that you have a wonderful and relaxing summer! See you in August!

– The Essential Learning Group Team

There’s still time to sign up!

ELG’s Summer Program 2015 June 22^nd – August 7^th Monday-Friday, 8:30-12:30

A fun, therapy-based program, with a focus on developing behavioural, communication and social skills. All ages welcome!
To register and for more information: [email protected], or call 021 5206 6273

4 Fun Summer Apps to Develop Fine Motor Skills

One of our Occupational Therapists, Albine Klawatch, shares with us her favourite apps for practicing fine motor skills.

Time for Speech! Raising Multi-Lingual Children: What You Need to Know

This month, columnist Reyhaneh Rajabzadeh，Speech-Language Pathologist, addresses common concerns regarding raising children in multi-lingual environments.

Purposeful Teaching

Welcome to The Innovative Learning Center, where we use every opportunity to teach. Our program staff shared their favourite activities with us.

Fun for the Family: ILC’s Family Day

Our parents, children, specialists and staff came together on the last Saturday of May for Family Day.

Alternative Schooling in Shanghai

Guest Contributor Margaret McClintic writes about alternative education options in Shanghai.

On the Future of Special Education: Virtual Reality Assistive Technology

Amihan Tayag, one of our Speech-Language Pathologists, shares her thoughts on the use of technology to help children with special needs.

Striving for Excellence in Client Care: Introducing the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

We’ve just adopted a new UK-based system to improve how we support children and families

Meet Our New Specialists

Nanda Hofstede

Sociotherapist

Nanda holds a degree in Pedagogy from Fontys Academy in Tilburg, The Netherlands, which qualifies her to support parents and educators who encounter difficulties raising a child or supporting a student. Nanda has previous experience working in a multidisciplinary setting with adolescents, addressing a variety of mental health problems. She specializes in emotional regulation focused intervention, in particular aggression management training.

Jing Chiu

Occupational Therapist

Jing is joining our Innovative Learning Center and Clinic teams as our second bilingual Occupational Therapist. Jing has experience working in Taiwan, China and the United States offering OT services including sensory integration, social skills, activities of daily life, motor development and OT assessments. Furthermore, Jing has a Master’s degree in Expressive Art Therapy from the US. Aside from supporting our community as a therapist, Jing is keen to spread her knowledge and experiences by offering seminars and workshops to parents and educators.

We are now recruiting for the following positions to be filled immediately or starting August 2015.

For a full list of available positions at ELG, click here.

Building Relationships in the Workplace: How We Do It, and Why.

Jeanine Buzali, ELG’s Marketing Director, talks about ELG’s management strategy for building relationships.

Community Center Shanghai Hosts First Forum for Expat Service Providers (FESP)