About Atoc

ATOC (Acorns to Oaks Children’s Centre) was established in 2004 by Alison Owen who remains actively involved in ATOC, she is committed to bringing together an experienced team of professionals under one roof.

Alison has spent the past 2 years of her 25 year Occupational Therapy career in building ATOC into a unique centre offering personal and specialized programmes to meet the needs of children in Thailand and nearby South East Asian countries. She has been involved in teaching language programmes and has three teenage children; she therefore keeps a broad perspective on managing the programmes offered.

This dynamic learning environment is designed to foster children’s essential love of learning by bringing together people with the knowledge and the resources to help children who are experiencing difficulty. The resources are also available to children who do not have learning difficulties and who would benefit from additional educational support that is individualized and based on rigorous planning. Bilingual children are able to have native English speakers to develop their language skills at a higher level to succeed in the International curriculums.

The ATOC Centre is located within two adjacent properties in one of Bangkok’s many sub Soi’s in the Sukhumvit area. The premises are set in pleasant surroundings with a garden and comprises of numerous rooms for the different types of programmes on offer.

Children are taught to believe in themselves, build their esteem and enjoy the rewards of many small successes. A thriving and successful emotional development brings security to enable them to take risks in their learning .

At the core is our determination is the belief in the ability to influence a child’s learning journey through early identification so that the brain is challenged to create neural connections by selected techniques that are based on accepted principles of intervention.

ATOC’s philosophy is to make parents aware at the early stages of the child’s development and learning because intensive early support can re-educate the brain to receive, process and manage information more efficiently.

As young babies we successfully integrate the sensory systems of hearing, touch, vision, movement and body awareness. Natural maturity ensures that these systems become highly integrated and a strong link is forged between the auditory, visual, tactile, proprioceptive and vestibular systems. Children initially develop motor planning and general body organization before using more advanced organizational skills for higher academic learning. Children with even minimal neuro-developmental needs require specific help in integrating these systems.

There is a large emphasis at ATOC placed on the development of language and linking this to the child’s learning in school. A child who has established a strong ability to understand and express concepts will use this in their reading, writing and development of knowledge. Innovative methods are used to stimulate the child’s thinking processes so that they make the links necessary for good comprehension and critical thinking. It is important that the child does not learn discreet skills but can generalize the information across the board. It is estimated that 60-70% of children with learning needs have language difficulties. Knowing the child’s learning profile means teaching to their strengths while raising the levels in the areas that are important.

Comprehensive tests and consultations are carried out by a team of experienced professionals which include an Educational Psychologist, a Speech Pathologist, an Occupational Therapist and a Teaching Consultant trained in Reading Recovery and Dyslexia who are all supported by teachers and therapists who form a unique team delivering advice, solutions and success to both child and parent which will remain for throughout future years and maturity.

ATOC’s referrals come from various sources in the form of local and lnternational schools, parents, medical practitioners, government organizations and general advertising.

ATOC uses the RTI system which is an individualized, comprehensive assessment and intervention process, utilizing a problem-solving framework to identify and address student academic difficulties using effective, efficient, research-based instruction.

How RTI Is Used to Identify a Student as Having LD

In an RTI process, students who show signs of learning differences are provided with a series of increasingly intensive, individualized interventions. The intervention process includes systematic monitoring of the student’s progress. Students who do not show improvement, or “responsiveness,” to this series of interventions are considered to have more serious learning needs which then require comprehensive testing in order to receive educational benefit from instruction. The impact of behaviour, cognitive functioning, limited English proficiency and other neuro-developmental factors influencing the learning process are taken into account.

In addition to offering direct child support facilities, ATOC provide extended services in the form of public workshops for teachers, administrators and parents during which modern opinions on disability management and solutions are explained. Please feel free to contact us to discuss these workshops as they offer a great opportunity to build awareness about learning difficulties. We train assistants working individually with children in the schools and can train care-givers in effective ways of supporting the child.