About Us

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Learning Ladders is a registered non-profit society in Brunei Darussalam.

(Registered reference no : BPD 2 5 /1 2 4 9 ( S ) )

It was founded in 2007 by a group of dedicated parents committed to Advocacy, Public Education, Information and Referral, and Support for families of Children with Neurological Disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, Brain Injury, Learning Disabilities and its related disorders.

Our MISSION

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Help in connecting families with qualified and experienced professionals

Offer assistance with the provision of Therapy using scientifically proven methodologies

Provide information, resources and support to families affected by Autism and Other Developmental Disorders

Educate parents, carers and the general public about Autism and Other Developmental and Learning Disabilities

Our VISION

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Early Diagnosis of ASD is clearly important but it does not stop there.

How we respond to young children with ASD and their families is critical.

Early Diagnosis is only useful if followed by access to Early Intervention programmes, parent education/training and support for the child and his/her family.
In order to choose the right treatment, interventions and other supports for children with ASDs (from early childhood onward), parents, families and service providers will need to become well informed about the resources that are available.

Careful on-going assessment of the needs and individual strengths and weaknesses of the person affected by ASD will be key.

The availability and accessibility of effective evidence-based treatments and interventions will also be critical.
Therefore:

Learning Ladders Program

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1) Early Intensive One-to-One Intervention Program for young children (age 2 to 12).

2) Training courses for families.
The Society places great emphasis on family involvement especially parental involvement in generalising the Intervention program in the home environment.
This is a strict requirement of the Intervention Program.

3) Support Group:

Living with a disability can be a lonely and isolating experience.
Support can take many forms: local parent discussion groups, information sessions on various topics, information and advice on working with your child, or even a friendly ear on the other end of the phone.

Learning Ladders offers opportunities for children/people with ASD and Other Neurological Disorders, and their families, to meet, share and form lasting friendships. Whether in workshops, support groups, social events, or volunteer work, many members form a special bond with others who share similar joys, hopes, and challenges.

What Do We Do?

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We provide OPTIONS for families affected by ASD.
Primarily we help families with children on the autism spectrum get in touch with qualified and experienced professionals in the field of childhood disorder.

These professionals assist with the diagnosis and help create an individual education plan (IEP) for the child.

More importantly, parents are given training by them on how to implement the IEP.

The society believes that this will help empower parents in their effort to educate their own children.

Since its inception the society has facilitated the provision of ABA therapy to a number children affected with ASD over a period of one year. During that period all the children that received ABA therapy have made considerable improvements, paving the way for these children to achieve their full potential and leave them better placed for an independent adulthood. Encouraged and motivated by this experience the society would like to continue provision for these children and would like to see similar opportunities become more widely available to other children on the spectrum.

Learning Ladders do not believe that any one single treatment, intervention or program will benefit all people with an ASD. We support professional ABA-based treatments and educational approaches because these treatments are based on scientifically validated research and have been shown to be effective for many people.

There are many families who have children with seriously debilitating autism conditions who suffer deeply from a myriad of communication, behavioural, sensory and physical symptoms - children who will never reach their full potential without intensive support, special educational programming and effective evidence-based treatment.

The Society believes that early scientifically validated effective treatment/intervention can lead to great improvement for many children with autism.
Without appropriate individualized treatment, many children with autism will not develop effective communication and social skills and will continue to experience serious behaviour and learning difficulties.

Founding Members

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President and Co-founder:

Dr Sharina Yunus is a mother of a child with Autism.

She has a PhD in Optoelectronics from the University of Bath and is currently employed as a lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Communication Engineering at Institut Teknologi Brunei.

She works tirelessly to promote awareness on Autism in particular the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention. A strong advocate for science based educational strategies for children on the Autistic Spectrum, she is dedicated to improving the outcome and the quality of life for these children by striving to ensure that they receive the education they deserve.

Vice President and Co-founder:

Norhaslinda Ibrahim has children on the spectrum.

She has a strong background in Biotechnology having studied at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and trained at National University Hospital Singapore. She has worked with BSP as a Med Lab Technologist and as Lab Information Systems Analyst in Panaga. She has also worked in JPMC Lab.

Linda has been instrumental in creating and designing all the publicity/publications materials for the various Learning Ladders activities.

She is a proponent of biomedical intervention for children with Autism and through her own experience has seen significant improvement in her own children due to biomedical intervention.

She strongly believes that through awareness and knowledge of Autism comes understanding, tolerance and acceptance.

Treasurer and Co-founder:

Dr Terry Fairclough

He is the key person handling the financial matters of the society.

Currently he is employed as a senior lecturer at the Department of Electrical and Communication Engineering at Institute Teknologi Brunei. He has a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Nottingham.

Dr Terry is originally from United Kingdom and has spent many years working overseas in various Universities. He has written many International journals and won many prizes for Mathematics.

He helps the society in many ways on a voluntary basis and does so diligently.