Our Story

“Oasis Place” is a place of love and healing for individuals who have learning differences including autism. The story of Oasis Place began in 2010 when our son Joshua was only one-and-a-half years old. Our friend, a pediatric neurologist, noticed that Joshua was displaying symptoms of autism. Inappropriate levels of eye contact, speech delay and hyperactivity were all red flags, and in hindsight, we can remember moments of Joshua spinning around intensely to music and not responding to his name. With frustratingly long waits for assessments at both public and private centres, we became Joshua’s own case manager, and did everything we could to secure private audiology and speech assessments and therapy. After 5 long months of waiting, Joshua was finally diagnosed at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore with Pervasive Development Disorder-NOS (a group of conditions that involve delays in the development of many basic skills). And from that day on, our journey to heal our son of autism began…

Armed with blood test reports of high mercury toxicity, a long list of allergens and other biomedical imbalances, we travelled the globe searching for the best possible help. In May 2010, we attended a “Defeat Autism Now” conference in the United States, and spoke to countless doctors, specialists and other parents of autistic children. All of a sudden, we began to see the light. We were educated and enlightened. And most importantly, we realised that we were not alone. We knew it would not be a smooth journey ahead, but feeling empowered by our new-found knowledge, we left the US with our hearts filled with hope and determination.

On our return to Kuala Lumpur, we began a rigorous routine of nutritional therapy with a gluten and casein-free diet (GFCF) and bio-medical supplementation intervention. Together with sensory integration occupational therapy and speech therapy, Joshua made great progress. We also relied heavily on Relationship Development Intervention Therapy (RDI), which provided the dynamic elements of intervention, and it became apparent that multi-disciplinary intervention was the key. Three years of travel for intensive intervention was physically and mentally exhausting; however, with regular appointments and the precious support of family and friends, we were truly blessed with the fruits of our labour.

Within one year, Joshua began blossoming into an interactive, engaging and happy young boy and continues to be one today. Joshua is now 5 years old and his receptive and expressive language are above the 99th percentile of the Preschool Language Scales (PLS-5) assessment. Currently Joshua’s autism is by and large unnoticeable to the untrained eye.

We believe that one of the main reasons for our success was being able to integrate Joshua’s intervention therapy into his normal school day. At our fully inclusive, Montessori preschool, Tree Top House, we were able to incorporate many of Joshua’s intervention programmes into the regular curriculum. Having some medical training under our belt, we could simplify some therapies and expose and train our teachers to integrate them into the every day curriculum, thereby making each lesson a therapeutic opportunity. And after watching Joshua make incredible progress, we were convinced that early intervention with inclusion is the way forward for children with learning differences.

And the rest, as they say, is history! Oasis Place was born from our own experience and provides just as its name suggests – an oasis where families of learning-different individuals can come to seek support, understanding and professional expertise. We are a resource centre with multi-faceted and complementary intervention services from Psychology Assessments, Sensory Integration Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Nutritional Advice and Educational Support. And above all, love and healing reside at Oasis Place, and provide the foundation from which our children can blossom into engaging, independent, successful and happy human beings.

It is without a doubt a multi-disciplinary team of parents, family members, caregivers, therapists, educators, doctors, nutritionist, authorities and advocates that shape the success of intervention.

If you are seeking professional assessment, therapy, support, advice or just needing someone to talk to about your family member with learning differences, please contact us. The road may not be smooth but with the right support and information, we can make your journey an easier and more resourceful one.

We look forward to working with you and to help pave the best possible future for your family member with learning differences.