Improve Learning Experiences of Autism Kids
Vietnam • Summer & Fall 2022
Myoko is a group of kindergartens for children with autism in Vietnam. In 2018, ABROADER welcomed 3 students from Northwestern’s GESI Program who worked on helping improve the center by bringing in their experiences and research from their home country (United States).
Special Education Kindergarten
One of the few special education centers in Hanoi, Myoko assists thousands of children and parents on the journey to develop critical perceptive and motor skills at children. The teachers at Myoko Kindergartens are of great help to children as they are dedicated and original when designing activities for autistic children. They design interactive activities that are tailored to students’ abilities and special needs, thus, offering a cozy and inclusive environment where children learn and gain confidence.
Working on new incentives
As part of the service learning program, 3 American students were placed at Myoko. They supported the teachers during classes as they built their own knowledge of working with Vietnamese children with autism.
Three students struggled to work under language barriers, still, they successfully implemented new incentives that fitted their fields of knowledge.
First, they identified areas that can be improved and came up with 3 different initiatives. One student majoring in Engineering came up with the idea of designing sound-proof classroom once she noticed the lack of sound insulation in a supposedly noisy environment. Another student specializing in public health identified children’s difficulties in relaxing during lunch break and bathroom practices. She then researched on studies about autistic kids and suggested solutions to Myoko’s teachers. Another student worked on promoting a fund-raising flea market that helps Myoko financially.
The noticeable thing here is that the students have to identify the right problems to solve instead of working on a default plan suggested by the host organization. This allows students freedom to create, design and spot the right problems to solve, which is also a highlight of service learning program.
Service learning is a unique combination of study abroad and community-based volunteer work where participants get to immerse yourself into the local community while developing professional and personal skills.
At its core, service learning focuses on the local community and their needs. Thus, service learning programs are adaptable to the local community’s settings as well as participants’ backgrounds.
What makes Service Learning different from Volunteer? It’s the “learning” part. Upon working locally and reflecting from experiences in a structured format, participants gain an understanding of the local community, the social issues faced and approaches to resolve these issues.
If you are look for internship opportunity and care about community development, please apply here.
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Featured educators
“Working with ABROADER has been a delight; their partnership in building a program that works for both our model and local realities has been top notch. Over the last few years, we have worked closely together to open a new location for Northwestern’s Global Engagement Studies Institute (GESI) in Hanoi. This eight-week program sends small groups of Northwestern students to intern directly with community-based organizations in Hanoi to partner on work prioritized by the host organization. ABROADER builds and maintains relationships with a wide variety of organizations that are passionate about their missions, as well as hosting students.”
COREY ANNE PORTELL
Northwestern University, United States
Senior Program Manager, Global Engagement Programs, Global Learning Office
Featured educators
“I thank you for your warm greetings ever since my first visit to Hanoi in 2015. We mainly deal with study tours for Japanese university students, but it is not unusual for students to go abroad for the first time. In an environment where individualized care is required for such students, sincere support has always been provided. Also, seeing our students interact with local students and host families in English, which is not their native language, allows for communication from the heart, which extends beyond just language. That experience has led to their confidence, and this is always touching. All of this is thanks to the pre-training of local students and host families and your efforts as a team.”
YUKO TAKAMOCHI
Ryugaku Journal Inc., Japan
Corporate Sales Manager, Private Organization for Overseas Education
Featured educators
“ABROADER has an extensive industry network that they utilise to provide the students with industry tours relevant to their classroom work. They have well established links to a number of Vietnamese Universities and use them such that coordinated activities and learning experiences are shared between Vietnamese students and students from Newcastle. ABROADER also maintains a local buddy system which providé an amazing insight into the Vietnamese people and culture. Students from Newcastle also appreciate the culture and volunteer days, not only as a break from their classroom studies, but as a learning experience as well as a chance to give a little back to Vietnam.”
JAMES WELSH
University of Newcastle, Australia
Associate Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computing
Featured educators
“For many years, ABROADER has been my trusted partner when I send my students to Vietnam. From ABROADER’s vast network of relationships with great industry leaders to their ability to pair students with local buddies, ABROADER ensures that my students gain a learning experience of a lifetime through deep immersion into the local businesses and culture. In helping with getting my students’ visas processed and from a risk management perspective as well, their team is reliably efficient, thorough, flexible, and highly professional. My heart-felt thanks to Lucy Nguyen and her excellent team for all that you do for my students!”
PROFESSOR LYNN IMAI
Ivey Business School, Western University, Canada
Counsellor & Coach | Global Leadership Expert
Featured educators
“I would like to thank you for your leadership, guidance and support of our pre-service teachers. Your thorough planning, preparation and attention to detail, along with your outstanding leadership during this professional experience, ensured that it was a great success for all concerned. The experiences that you enabled our pre-service teachers to have, and the relationships that you have built with collaborating schools, are vital to the work of the Faculty Education at Monash University. Your wealth of knowledge and experience in supporting the organization of quality International Professional Experience for our students is highly appreciated and valued.”
DOCTOR REBECCA COOPER
Monash University, Australia
Senior Lecturer
Featured educators
“I was part of the Ohio University Global Engagement team that visited Vietnam in 2019. Lucy and her team made the trip a never-to-forget trip. Though we were a bunch of faculty and staff, not the usual exchange students that ABROADER handles, they still were there for us. From the stroll in the central market of Ho Chi Minh City, boat-ride down the Mekong Delta, interaction with local business leaders and university faculty – ABROADER did an excellent job! When it comes to groups, exchange students, study-abroad students’ trips to Vietnam intending to have an authentic worthy Vietnamese experience, then without a shade of doubt, I would recommend ABROADER!”
GREG-VICTOR C. OBI, PH.D.
Ohio University, United States
Professor of Business Management Tech – College of Business
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