By Yusmunirah M. Yusar
That night, Yus sank into the soft sofa after finishing preparing her child’s school needs for the next day. Her hand then reached for the phone, scrolling through WhatsApp statuses one by one.
Suddenly, her eyes fixed on a WhatsApp status from a neighbour she knew well —one of her close neighbours. The status showed that the neighbour’s child had jumped or skipped a grade.
Wow!
A proud achievement because the child is a special needs student attending “Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi” (Integrated Special Education Program), a special education programme for students with special needs.
In another status, the neighbour shared that her child could now read continuous verses from the Quran in the Islamic Education textbook.
The neighbour wrote: ‘It was not in vain for Mummy to send sister to learn the Quran recitation with Cik Yus. May sister’s heart be enlightened to continue learning.’
The heartbeat that was calm suddenly seemed to stop momentarily. The world seemed silent, and all that remained was the memory of a conversation from two months ago.
This came from a rather familiar sound — Ding…the WhatsApp notification. The conversation went on like this with Wani (not her real name) asking: “Assalamualaikum. Where does Yus send her child for Quran lessons?“
Yus: “Waalaikumussalam. Nowhere. Yus teaches her child herself.”
Wani: “If I were to ask Yus to teach my child Quran recitation, is that okay? But my child is autistic.”
Yus stared at the message for a long time, reading it repeatedly. ‘If I were to ask Yus to teach my child Quran recitation, is that okay?’ — a request that felt so pure.
Yus: “Oh! Seriously! I have no qualifications! Besides, I only teach the basics.”
Wani: “It’s okay, Yus. When we teach my child, he resists. He doesn’t want to read. He cries. Please teach him like you teach your child.
Yus: “I’ll be honest. I’m still learning too. My children are just okay so far. I’m afraid of what people might say. No qualifications, suddenly teaching others. What if other people found out?””
The conversation stopped. For a long time.
Then another message came:
Wani: “Yus, think about it first. I hope you can teach my child. He had reached Iqra’ 3 before but stopped. Now, if we teach him, he refuses to read with us.”
Yus pondered. The dilemma was not because the child was autistic. But because of fear of other people’s perceptions.
Between wanting to nurture a good intention and feeling unworthy. Yus pondered over the words again and again.”Is it okay if I teach? Just teach like I teach my own child.” This is about knowledge. An ustazah once said that if knowledge is not shared, it will eventually disappear.”
Finally, Yus replied:
“Alright, Wani. I’ll try to teach your child. Just like I teach my own. But I’ve never dealt with a special needs child before. Let’s try together. May Allah help us. Ameen.”
Yus sighed deeply. Her eyes gazed at the table and chair often used by the child. Memories of the initial teaching lesson with the special needs child played back in her mind.
The earlier hesitation when faced with the unfamiliar situation made Yus feel rather awkward. Awkward to communicate, awkward to correct, awkward to teach. She wasn’t sure what method would suit the child in order to follow the reading rhythm.
There were unexpected challenges. Sometimes the special needs child rebelled and refused to read. “No…!” he shouted.
Yus could only scratch her head. Eventually, she gave a toy to calm the child. Ten minutes later, she invited him to read again.
Sometimes the child snorted. Was he angry? Oh… he did follow the reading. But maybe he couldn’t read for too long. Maybe he was tired and bored.
Since then, the teaching methods have varied. Day by day, reading alternated with activities from the workbook provided by his mother or with borrowed toys. Sometimes, Yus invited the special needs child to draw. Yes… the child liked to draw. Drawing in his own way.
Now, it was almost the third month since Yus started teaching the special needs child.
The once hesitant heart was now growing confident. Allah does not look at qualifications. Allah looks at intention and effort.
The decision two months ago was not a decision that had gone to waste.
(My views on volunteering, a principle close to me, are also contained in my book titled Suka Rela Sukar Lawan, published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka 2024). For any inquiries, please contact yusmunirah@gmail.com.
Yusmunirah M. Yusar is a volunteer with Yayasan SALAM Malaysia, an NGO dedicated to volunteering in Malaysia for the past 30 years.