How a single mother’s love sparked a 23-year long volunteer journey for special needs – Kaya

Kaya catches up with Singapore Silent Hero 2022 Awards ‘Heart of Humanity’ Winner, Madam Sharon Khoo, to uncover how learning to care for her son led her on a journey to use music as a tool to empower persons with disabilities.

For some, volunteering is a calling, but for Sharon, her motivation stemmed from love and duty.

In 2004, she adopted Adrian, the three-year-old child of a close relative who had tragically passed. Aside from Intellectual Impairment and epilepsy, the toddler was also diagnosed with dyspraxia, Celebral Palsy and Failure to Thrive. He could not walk, drink or eat independently; he needed speech therapy and round-the-clock care.

“The child is innocent. I couldn’t just leave him in someone else’s care. So, I said, ‘Whatever I can do, I’ll do’. From then on, it no longer became about myself but how I’m going to bring Adrian up to be an independent person who can contribute to society.“

Initially, Sharon focused on helping Adrian hit developmental milestones with the advice of doctors. But when he enrolled into Primary 1 at Association For Persons with Special Needs (APSN) Chaoyang School in 2008, she began actively volunteering at the school.

Her decision was fuelled by her desire to better understand and provide for her child. That marked the start of her special needs volunteering journey where she picked up the skills to teach and care for differently-abled persons.

Life Tested My Strength, But I Chose Not to Back Down

Having to raise Adrian alongside her biological son was challenging to say the least. But her situation at home got even more complicated when her husband passed away from a sudden heart attack in 2011.

“I didn’t contact any of my friends or anyone for more than three years. I was feeling depressed because I was at a loss, I didn’t know what to do.

I still pushed myself to send Adrian to school because I didn’t want to disrupt his learning. But the minute I sent him to school, I would go straight home and stay there until it was time to pick him up again.”

Eventually, things changed because Sharon realised that Adrian needed social support and activities to thrive and develop.

“A mother’s strength is really incredible. My worry for Adrian was how I suddenly found the strength to push myself out of the silence.”

Aside from APSN Chaoyang School, Sharon continued to volunteer at the different special needs schools Adrian attended (Tanglin School and Delta Senior School) and only stopped volunteering in 2021 when he graduated.

From 2014 to 2021, she also worked as a part-time teacher assistant with AWWA School, another special education school in Singapore for persons with multiple disabilities and autism.

Currently, Sharon is doing ad hoc volunteer work with APSN Centre for Adults (CFA) and Faith Music Centre.

Answering the Call to Change Lives

In 2017, she came across Faith Music Centre, a music centre for both physically disabled and persons with special needs of all ages. At the school, students are taught instruments such as drums, guitar, keyboard, and vocals, transforming their disabilities into musical abilities. Simultaneously, this enables them to develop skills in the performing arts and earn an income.

“I realised music could help Adrian quite early on. When he was younger, he could hum tunes after listening to a song once. So, I approached the founder, Alvin Yeo, who welcomed Adrian warmly.

I told Alvin, ‘Are you sure or not? Adrian can’t coordinate his movements. He can’t even tie his shoelaces or button his shirts.’ But Alvin said not to worry and to leave it to him. After six months, Alvin showed me a video of my son drumming and coordinating with his leg and both hands, I almost cried. I felt so proud.”

It’s been nine years since that fateful encounter. Adrian is still drumming, performing and never misses a beat. In turn, Sharon has also given back as a volunteer since then and helped other special needs children develop their musical abilities.

“When working with or raising persons with special needs, being calm and patient is very important. Sometimes, you may find yourself having to repeat the same instructions 10 times. There was one student who refused to sit down for an entire year, but with patience and perseverance, it eventually paid off.

Playing and listening to good music can help you relax and calm down. Everyone can learn music, including individuals with autism, intellectual or physical impairments or learning disabilities – it just takes a little more time and patience.

I always feel that where I am now, I should give back to society and try to help as much as possible, especially as a mum with a child who has special needs.”

An Enduring Journey To Spread The Message

There are lots of ways to do good and make a positive impact on others. Volunteering, like Sharon did, is one way to make a meaningful change. For those wondering about whether to volunteer, Sharon offers this piece of advice: just step forward and volunteer, don’t think so much.

“Volunteering is actually not that hard. You may feel like you can’t do it, but you will be surprised by your own strength.”

In acknowledgement of her efforts, Sharon received the Singapore Silent Heroes award in 2022. The award is organised by Civilians Associations (Singapore) (CAS) as a way to recognise everyday, ordinary persons for their extraordinary humanity and compassion towards individuals, families, community and environment.

Through these awards, the hope is that more will be inspired to become heroes in their own communities.

“Not many people know about the Singapore Silent Heroes. But that’s the purpose of a Silent Hero, right? To do things that matter without people knowing. I do it just because it is the right thing to do.

I didn’t expect to win, but when they announced that I did, I was so moved. I’m happy to spotlight and bring awareness to raising special needs children and other vulnerable and/or marginalised groups.

I know there are a lot of Silent Heroes out there. I think we should cover more of them to inspire others to open up and share their stories as well.”

If you know someone making a quiet difference and meet the criteria to be a Silent Hero, nominate them to celebrate their efforts at https://sgsilentheroes.com/online-nomination. The nomination window for Singapore Silent Heroes Awards 2026 is now open from 5th March and will close on 15th June 2026.