‘Special child’ displayed resilience in face of challenges

SINGAPORE — Despite having only one arm, 12-year-old Lim Jia Xuan has never let it deter her from achieving the things she had set out to do. Her list of achievements include playing the piano, swimming and, now, acing her Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) with an aggregate score of 253.

The determined student from St Hilda’s Primary School was born with a congenital defect and had to have her right arm amputated when she was three months old. But special treatment was never expected.

“I actually wrote a letter to the form teacher to let them understand her medical condition, to request for them to let her be as normal as possible, not to give her special assistance unless she asks for it,” said her father, Mr Lim Chee Wee, 48.

But even this independent young lady admits to needing help at times. For instance, she needed more time during the Math exam to construct shapes with tools and was given another half hour to complete it.

Singling her out yesterday morning, Principal Mdm Kew Mee Ying described Jia Xuan as a “special child” who displayed resilience in the face of challenges while preparing for her PSLE. Her good behaviour in class had also prompted her form teacher, Mrs Yeo Yew Ling, to appoint her the class monitor last year and group leader this year.

“It wasn’t very difficult, but it was a bit troublesome,” she admitted. “I had to collect all the (homework). But it was still a good opportunity for me.”

Jia Xuan’s good PSLE score was the result of the hard work she had put in. Earlier in the year, she had under-performed in her Maths test. So she spent two more hours each day revising her work before the PSLE. Her tuition hours were also extended to three-hour sessions, twice a week, for subjects like Maths, Science and Chinese.

Whenever she felt stressed, she would turn to music and plug in to her favourite Korean pop boy band, Infinite.

Jia Xuan also performed with St Hilda’s school choir, which she enjoyed and said it helped build her confidence.

She intends to keep singing and has been looking at the kind of co-curricular activities being offered, choir teams in particular, at secondary schools. So far, Dunman High School has made her shortlist.