SNLC presents its in-house “BEAT IT” band

Dec 14, 2018

PETALING JAYA: The Special Needs Learning Centre (SNLC) celebrated the end of its school term with a musical night at Loyola Hall, St Francis Xavier’s Church on Nov 18. A new band, BEAT IT, comprising SNLC children and the Vocational Training Centre (VTC) young adults was introduced. They rocked the night with the opening song We Will Rock You (by the popular English band Queen). Nevin from VTC impressed the audience with his vocals in the Beatles number With a Little Help From My Friends.

The guests of honour were Archbishop Julian Leow, YB Charles Santiago (MP for Klang) and his wife, Pathma Krishnan and representatives from YB Maria Chin Abdullah’s office (MP for PJ) with special guest artists legendary percussionist Lewis Pragasam and drama diva Shanthini Venugopal.

Altogether, there were 11 performances, including a traditional Indian dance “Kummi Addi” by the SNLC children who danced to Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean performed by the VTC team. There were also performances by some University of Malaya students and the Yang Diutus youngsters from the SFX Church. The keyboardist for the night was Nat Nathan. The night ended at 9.30pm with a standing ovation for the last song Kita Punya Malaysia.

People with autism have great difficulties with verbal communication and have sensory processing problems to lighting and sound effects. The SNLC/VTC students are no exception. These students, with guided and structured practice, overcame the challenges and accepted the new experience to perform together in a synchronised manner. In other words, they communicated in their own way, given their limitations to perform. During music classes, guided by Mr Senthirajah, students played percussion instruments to beats/ tempo of music tracks. This was supported by both verbal and visual cues. They responded well and, hence, the idea to form a band was mooted.

What is remarkable is that the parents of the children are able to appreciate and enjoy watching the many performances by their children.

SNLC was formed 17 years ago with the initiative of parents and the support of the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development (AOHD). Archbishop Leow in his speech, emphasised that children who are differently abled should not be isolated from society; their talents and interests should be explored and nurtured.

We strongly believe that children with autism can be trained to do many things based on their abilities and with the support from society at large.

Rita Anthony, the SNLC Coordinator, in her opening speech said, “Only when opportunities are made available for the disabled to engage meaningfully in society, can they live life freely with dignity and respect.”