THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES – FOCUSING ON PRIMARY EDUCATION 76 PLENARY SESSION I VOICE IT OUT: SHARING OF EXPERIENCES AND UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES Panel 1: Lifelong Learning or Mainstream Education? By Mohd Fariz Abdul Rahman, a student from SK Rampangi Adik Mohd Fariz who was assisted by his teacher Puan Latifah, shared his experiences and challenges faced in his daily life as a child with learning disabilities. The following points were mentioned in his presentation:4. He and his twin brother commenced their education at the age of 5 in Tadika Kemas Bandar Baru Samariang and later enrolled into the mainstream class in Sekolah Kebangsaan Bandar Samariang. The lack of clarity in their speech caused communication difficulties between them and the teachers which led to major obstacles in their learning process. As such, in Year 3, a teacher advised their mother to consult a specialist and undergo diagnostic test in specialist clinic due to their poor performance in study. 5. In 2009, he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) and was recommended to attend special education class (PPKI classes), as a result of which he was transferred to SK Rampangi. 6. He also highlighted that the cooperation, support, guidance and assistance from his dedicated teachers had enabled him to read, write a few short sentences and solve simple mathematical problems. In addition, his mother also sent him together with his brother to speech therapy sessions in 2009 and 2010. Nevertheless, he could not continue the therapy because of transportation issues. 7. He further highlighted his experience in peer-teaching which helped him to improve performance in class. Due to his good performance in reading skills, the school decided to allow him to sit for Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in 2013. 8. He thanked everyone who had helped him to improve his performance both in school and at home. Panel 2: Challenges & Issues among the Special Education Teachers by Ms. Chew Siok Cheng, Centre Supervisor in Methodist Care Centre In her presentation, Ms. Chew Siok Cheng spoke on the following issues:9. Some teachers were only trained briefly on special education through a short training programme before being posted to teach in special education classes. These teachers do not have (or have little) knowledge and experience regarding special education. She further opined that the teachers of special education classes should be appropriately trained in order to meet the highest standards of their profession thus enabling them to cope with different levels of disabilities as well as meet the various learning