About the programme:

Join our friendly Meet & Greet with Lee Seow Ser and Tan Siew Ling, the author and protagonist of My Name is Siew Ling. I am Deafblind, the 7th and newest book in the I am Unique bilingual children’s picture book series published by  Helang Books. Learn about Siew Ling’s story, how she navigates the world as a Deafblind person and how the Deafblind community communicates through tactile methods like braille and fingerspelling. Gain a richer understanding of what empathy looks like and how people communicate in diverse ways. Get up close and interact with lobsters, make new friends in tactile style and soak up the spirit of care and courage.

About the speakers: 

Siew Ling is a witty warrior who uses a white cane and a refreshable braille display installed with screen reader software. Her humour and love of puns keep friends on their toes. She enjoys reading books in her free time, penning her thoughts and journalling her outings on social media. She was the first blind student in Singapore to take Chinese at GCE O-level in 2003 and later at A-O level. When not working, writing, reading, or eating with friends, Siew Ling can be seen swinging a 20kg kettlebell or learning to crochet. 

Seow Ser is a legal advocate-turned-community advocate, author, and mother of two boys. She co-founded and leads the ground-up initiative “To SIR (Socially Inclusive Reads) With Love”, a Communities of Good (Ground-Up) Finalist in the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards 2025, and a Kindred Spirit Circle member inducted in 2025 by the Singapore Kindness Movement. Seow Ser obtained a Specialist Diploma in Social Entrepreneurship from the Dr Richard K M Eu-SIM Social Entrepreneurship Centre (inaugural cohort) in 2025, and also trained as an intervenor with the Singapore Association for the Deaf to support deafblind persons.

Organiser’s information:

Helang Books is a boutique, independent publishing house. It is an imprint of Archipelago Consultancy, a Singapore-based consultancy providing high-quality services in the areas of Research, Heritage, Education and Creativity. Helang Books has carved its niche in publishing important books that have earned recognition and won prestigious awards.

To SIR (Socially Inclusive Reads) With Love (“SIR”) is a ground-up initiative co-founded in 2015 by Hidayah Amin, Lee Seow Ser and Tan Ai Khim. SIR is a Communities of Good (Ground-Up) Finalist in the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards 2025 and a Kindred Spirit Circle member inducted by the Singapore Kindness Movement in 2025. SIR hopes to foster empathy and greater understanding through creative resources and interactive, experiential programmes, bridging gaps and bringing communities closer.

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The Abilities Unlocked Series spotlights the lived experiences, skills, and talents of persons with disabilities, strengthening self-advocacy through inclusive programmes.  

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Sign Language and Speech-to-Text Interpretation are provided for this programme.

To request for other accessibility arrangements, please fill up the Accessibility Arrangements Request Form for NLB Programmes.

To access our wheelchair friendly routes (bus and MRT) and social stories, please visit https://go.gov.sg/wheelchair-friendly-routes-social-stories and select the respective library to access the information.