"Ouryhaan? Ouryhaan!" Rose called out to her son repeatedly. The then-two-year-old did not respond, nor did he look over to acknowledge her voice. Exhausted, Rose had just gotten home from her nursing shift work late that night and all she wanted to do was to spend time with her son — but often, her hopeful call was met with silence.

"Sometimes I wanted to cry because he wants to tell me something, but I cannot understand fully," she shared. She felt like she was not a good mother to Ouryhaan emotionally and mentally.

After realising a pattern in Ouryhaan's behaviour, Rose began to feel concerned about his speech delay and started to seek intervention for her son. This proved to be difficult because of the long waiting time at other learning centres.

On top of this, Rose was also going through a divorce from her husband. As a single mother, she had to work overtime to make ends meet and also pay for her ex-husband's loans, her time with Ouryhaan was limited.

Odelia Wong, assistant senior social worker from Care Corner Family Service Centre (Admiralty), had previously worked with Rose to help her with her financial and relationship challenges. After hearing about her difficulty in finding intervention for Ouryhaan, Odelia referred them to Care Corner Learning and Special Needs Support (LSN).

From the first session, Ouryhaan enjoyed his lessons at LSN Intervention Programme (LSN-IP), he is often looking forward to his next class. Rose gives credit to the professionalism of the teachers and the nurturing environment that made Ouryhaan feel welcome.

Through LSN-IP, 4-year-old Ouryhaan explores a multitude of activities to improve his communication skills and cognitive functioning. He enjoys using his hands to communicate, paint, and explore touching different materials.

Notably, he has been using his hands to communicate with Rose, signaling a thumbs-up to say 'okay,' shaking his hands to imply 'no,' and diligently practicing the ABCs. He can even start verbally saying 'I love you'.

When bonding with his mother at home, he likes to play with the ingredients while she is baking and now takes the initiative to put away kitchen utensils and their shoes - just like he does in class.

"When I reach home, he knows that 'oh my mommy is home!' He will really welcome me at home, he would take off my shoes and would help me put it on the shoe rack!... I'm a princess right now to him!" Rose shared with a grin. They would then end each night with Rose reading a book to him.

"I'm thankful for Care Corner because since my son started his intervention which was only last year in November, he already improved a lot," Rose said.

"Care Corner is like my saviour because they were there for me to help me throughout my personal matters and even for my son."

From quiet evenings to hour-long bedtime routines filled with baking sessions and precious 'I love you's,' their connection is stronger than ever. Rose's dream is to see the day Ouryhaan pick up a storybook and read to her-a dream that now feels palpably within reach.