• Diana is a 36-year-old woman who has been working as a primary school teacher for the past 15 years. She is also doing a part-time degree in Psychology and is currently a second-year student in the program. Since the 2020 implementation of various COVID-19 measures in Singapore, Diana is finding it increasingly difficult to manage the increased demands both at work and at home. She has a primary school-going son, Jerome, who is presenting with some learning and behavioral challenges.

With the start of the new academic semester at university, Diana attempts to look through her study material and assignments. However, she feels “tired” just looking at them. She also finds it difficult to connect with her coursemates through the virtual classes, as all of them seem distant and unfriendly.

• Diana’s son, Jerome, is an 11-year-old boy in Primary 5. He is refusing to attend school. His teachers reported him to have average academic attainment since Primary 1, but more recently, he was observed to be facing significant academic challenges. He struggles particularly with reading and frequently requires individual support.

His current form teacher describes him as a quiet and passive learner but is also a sensitive child who can turn aggressive at the slightest trigger in the classroom environment. He is also frequently disengaged in classroom activities and is limited in his communication with peers within a large group setting. Other teachers have observed that he often fidgets in class and finds it difficult to start or complete writing tasks.

Diana recalls that Jerome had received speech and language therapy when he was younger as he had difficulty pronouncing some words and would sometimes reverse letters in his writing. She also remembers that though Jerome could generally play well with family members, he had been teased by his peers in the past.

Jerome’s refusal to go to school started to surface when Circuit Breaker measures were first implemented in 2020. This was his first experience with home-based learning. Diana notices that Jerome is adjusting poorly to the current teaching arrangement which consists of a mix of face-to-face teaching and home-based learning.