Special Needs Education In Malaysia: Hils Learning In Solaris Mont Kiara

We interviewed the principal of Hils Learning, Tracy Ho, who is also a registered Play Therapist.

1. Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Tracy. I’m a registered Play Therapist with PTUK (Play Therapy UK) and PTI (Play Therapy International). I am also able to conduct Filial Play sessions, where I support and empower parents to be the main agents of change in their children’s lives.

2. What is the range of school fees at Hils Learning?

• RM 199 an hour for one-to-one learning support, social thinking, homeschooling support
• RM 250 per 45-minute session for play therapy
• RM 625 for a 2-hour non-diagnostic screening, which includes parent consultation
• RM 2,500 for a formal assessment using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) V and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) III

3. What is the age range of your students?

• For learning support and academically related support: 5 and above
• For play therapy and filial play: 3 and above

4. What syllabus does the school follow? Which method of learning?

Programmes are catered for each individual child’s learning needs because we believe that there cannot be a one-size fits all solution, as each child is an individual. Our services include:

• Homeschooling support of the following programmes:
  • Brigham Young University (American)
  • Ontario Virtual High School (Canadian)
  • World Education Services (UK)
  • Laurel Springs (American)

• Social and behavioural support at Hils utilizes the following programmes:
  • Social Thinking by Michelle Garcia Winner
  • CAT Kit by Professor Tony Attwood
  • Social Stories by Carol Gray

• Reading Mastery using approaches from:
  • The Gift of Dyslexia by Ron Davis
  • Jolly Phonics
  • Reading Remedy by Marion Blank

• Dyscalculia support using Steve Chin’s methods
  • Play Therapy and Filial Therapy following the PTUK (Play Therapy UK) and PTI (Play Therapy International) child-directed model
  • Training programmes for parents and teachers

5. What does the average daily schedule look like for your students?

Our full-time students attend daily from 9:00 – 12:00 and students who are currently at school attend Hils a minimum of twice a week, an hour each time.

6. How many children in the school have special educational needs and disabilities? What range of needs to they have?

In general, because we specialise in supporting students who learn differently, most of our students have special education needs. Some of our students do not have any formal diagnosis, as we are not focused on the label but others are diagnosed with Autism, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, ADHD, etc.

7. How many children are there in each class? How many teachers or teacher assistants?

In general, the support is one-to-one. However, if a student is attending for social intervention, they will be in a group with a maximum of 3 students per facilitator.

8. Do you offer shadow aides or allow shadow aides in class?

N/A, as the intervention happens on a one-to-one basis.

9. How is progress measured and how frequently? How do children with special needs progress in your school?

We have monthly meetings with parents to discuss:

• Goals achieved
• Methods that have been shown to be successful for the child
• Goals moving forward

10. How do you involve parents in the monitoring and planning for their special needs kids? What support do you offer families?

Prior to commencing sessions at Hils, the goals for each child is discussed with the parent. Monthly meetings are then held with the parent to monitor progress and to discuss how best to move forward for their child. Our goal is to empower parents to be the main agents of change in the lives of their children.

11. What experience do you have working with and supporting children with special needs? What training does your staff have?

The qualifications of each member of staff differs. However, most of our staff either have a basic degree in Psychology or a special needs qualification. In addition to that, each member of staff has an additional specialisation such as a Post Graduate Diploma in Play Therapy,  Social Thinking Clinical Training Program 1A,  Masters in Child and Family Psychology, etc.

All of our staff have received training from the following experts:

1. Michelle Garcia Winner (2010, 2011, 2016) on Social Thinking
2. Steve Chinn (2009, 2010) on intervention methods for students with Dyscalculia
3. Dr Natasha Campbell McBride (2012) on Gut and Psychology Syndrome
4. Susan Hollar (2010) on language disorders and behaviour problems in children with ADHD
5. Dr Joyce Mills (2018) on managing challenging behaviour through expressive methods

12. Where can parents get more information?

• Website: hilslearning.edu.my
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hilslearning/
• Phone number: +60362030029 or +60123076590
• Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 – 6:30pm