PUBLISHED ONJune 28, 2025 1:04 AMBYBhavya RawatIsabelle Lee had a childhood unlike most of her peers.
The aspiring speech therapist grew up looking after her younger brother, Emmanuel, who has special needs, becoming the "quiet and dependable child" she believed her family needed at the time.
Speaking to AsiaOne on Thursday (June 26), the 19-year-old described her childhood as "a blend of warmth and complexity".
"I grew up in a very loving home, but I also felt that I had to grow up faster than most children my age," she said.
Isabelle explained that she felt she had to take on more responsibilities than her peers, such as making sure he completed his homework, ate and drank properly, played safely and felt accompanied.
"I had to learn how to manage my own emotions at a young age, be helpful and be good," said the teen.
By harnessing her experience as a "glass child", a term which refers to siblings of children with special needs, Isabelle is determined to help others like Emmanuel and herself.
She has enrolled for a four-year course in speech and language therapy at the Singapore Institute of Technology starting in September.
When asked why she chose to pursue speech therapy over other healthcare or special education-related paths, Isabelle said that the job stood out to her because of the part it played in her and her brother's life.
"It touches something very fundamental: the ability to be heard, to be connected and to be understood. For my family, it meant healing and hope. But for me, it was a calling," she said.
"It (isn't) just about therapy, but about rebuilding relationships, restoring dignity, and helping every child unlock a potential (only) words can.
"I wanted to...walk alongside children and families through those hard, beautiful steps towards communication and human connection."
She explained that a lot of her family's care, attention and energy was spent on her brother.
"His therapy appointments and hospital visits were the centre of my family's life," she said, adding that she sometimes felt unseen, not because anyone meant to ignore her but because "everyone was already doing their best in a very demanding situation".
Despite the challenges she faced as a child, Isabelle said that caring for her brother has shaped her in "meaningful and lasting ways".
Her experiences taught her patience and empathy, making her attentive to the "silent struggles" others might carry, as well as quiet strength and independence.
Emmanuel, 15, was diagnosed with Global Developmental Delay (GDD) and Apraxia at the age of 2.
GDD is a condition where a child under five years old experiences significant delays in achieving milestones in developmental areas such as motor skills as well as speech and language, among others.
Apraxia is a disorder of the brain and nervous system in which a person is unable to perform tasks or movements like chewing or speaking when asked.
These conditions made communication a constant challenge for Isabelle and her family.
"I felt helpless when I wasn't able to understand what my brother wanted and I could (feel) his frustration he wasn't able to express his needs," she said
"That silence filled the space between us."
However, Isabelle also vividly remembers Emmanuel's breakthroughs — like when he said his first word at four years old.
"Behind every one of these milestones was a speech therapist who believed in him," she said.
Inspired by this journey, Isabelle's mother Janice Tay left her corporate job to start Bridging the Gap — an early intervention centre for children with special needs.
"Seeing her vision and sacrifice to create a more inclusive society for children really inspired me to do the same," Isabelle explained.
As she got older, Isabelle got the opportunity to shadow speech therapists at private centres like Bridging the Gap, special education schools and hospitals, which made her even more determined to pursue it as a career.
Recalling her time shadowing a speech therapist at Bridging the Gap, the teen spoke about a boy she met who was having issues learning prepositions.
While he initially struggled to remember a list of words like front, behind and above, the boy showed improvement over time and one day managed to list the words taught to him correctly.
"I saw the smile on the therapist face, but what was (more) heartwarming to me was the joy in the child's eyes... a face of pride, as though (he) had done something meaningful," said Isabelle.
"This moment was very important to me because it reminded me that progress in speech therapy isn't always immediate, but is incredibly rewarding."
"It was a quiet but powerful affirmation to me that this was the work that I wanted to do — to help each child celebrate their achievements and find joy while helping them find their voice."
When asked what she hopes to achieve in the future, Isabelle said that she wishes to educate and empower those with communication difficulties as well as their families.
She also plans to advocate for them in educational settings and amplify their personal stories to improve awareness.
"At the heart of it, I want society to move from 'what is wrong with you' to 'how can I understand and connect with you better' because I believe that every person — regardless of the way they communicate — deserves the right and recognition to be heard."
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