Hey friend,

Happy Friday, have you been watching the Olympics?

I personally don't enjoy sports very much. But watching Hong Kong win 2 gold medals is exciting🥇.

Two days ago, a staff member asked me why some parents couldn't graduate.

You see, most parents who join our program drop off at a certain point.

It feels as if we're not doing the right thing.

I'm going to talk freely now; it's a long ramble. So buckle up!

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But I explained that this is the reality of therapy...

In Chinese, we have a saying: 知其不可而為之

It roughly translates to (stubbornly) do something even though you know it is impossible; to understand the difficulty of a feat but to attempt it anyway because it is the right thing to do )

It's funny how a few characters can mean so much 😂

That is the essence of therapy work, in my opinion.

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We're pushing a boulder uphill - and now we're pushing you so you'd push harder.

This makes things even harder than they are. We'd much rather push for you.

However, some things cannot be delegated.

I'm sure you know this by now and how passionate I am about this.

You're the only one who can do it.

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So, is there a problem with our courses and coaching programs?

Of course, it's not perfect! We're tweaking the programs every week.

Parents get stuck, and we're seeing patterns. At the clinic, we get stuck in the same places.

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If you've done high school Chemistry, you'd know something called the "Rate Determining Step" in a reaction.

This step takes the longest. If you can use a catalyst to speed up that step, you'll get a much faster reaction.

That's the same here in therapy.

There are crucial steps that children get stuck at.

For most non-verbal children, that's getting verbal imitation.

For verbal children, that's getting them to answer questions.

Once that's through, your child will explode forward.

Catalysts in therapy are: prompts, rewards, cues, instructions and how the task is set up.

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Of course, there are other aspects, such as behavioural, speech-related, and physical limitations.

We need to keep pushing.

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Parents give up on coaching because they think there's no point in sending videos when they're stuck.

The thing is, you might not be able to see the improvements.

But we can.

Just as a perfect-pitched musician hears the bus humming as a musical note.

We pick up differences in accents, speech sounds and language abilities.

That's why parents pay for our services!

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Lastly, I want to write an appreciation note for the parents who stuck with us.

​I'd be naming some parents who have been fighters in our community soon.​

To parents who have worked tirelessly for 2-3 years with us.

Thank you.

I cannot speak for your child.

But I can speak for AOS. Without all your hard work, people would've said parent coaching never works.

We're proud to have you as a client.

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Let's keep going,

Ming

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