Angelmum

Moderator
St. Andrew's Autism Centre

New centre aims to be hub for autistic care

my paper, Wed, Mar 30, 2011


AONE-STOP centre dedicated to the educational and training needs of autistic children, youth and adults was officially opened by President S R Nathan yesterday.
The St Andrew's Autism Centre (SAAC), which started operating in 2005, is now located at its new premises in Elliot Road.

Construction took 17 months, and the centre cost $23.7 million to build. Government funding amounted to $17 million, and the centre has since raised about 90 per cent of the remaining costs.

Explaining the six-year wait for its permanent premises, SAAC chief executive John Ang said: "It was such a big project and it needed several layers of approval."
The 2.2ha facility brings together SAAC's special school, which was previously located at the St Andrew's Community Hospital in Simei, and the Day Activity Centre (DAC), which was located at a void-deck unit in Bedok South.

The sprawling centre, which holds 15 blocks, boasts a slew of facilities.
These include mock-up flats for family-living skills training, a sheltered outdoor hydro-therapy pool, and art, music-therapy and dance rooms. There is even a clinic on the premises.

A pet enclosure, playground, as well as landscaping plans to beautify the grounds, such as the planting of fruit trees, are also in the works.
With these facilities, SAAC aims to provide a one-stop hub catering to autism care for people aged seven to 55 years old.

The centre has a maximum capacity of 400. It currently has 95 students at its school and 29 youth and adults at its DAC. Looking beyond those with the developmental disorder, the centre is also extending a hand to caregivers, providing support and counselling services.

In his speech at the opening ceremony, President Nathan stressed the need to care for people with special needs and to reach out to those who are less fortunate.
"Even as Singapore progresses, we have to be always mindful to leave no one behind," he said.

The move to the new centre was welcomed by parents of autistic children, like Mr G. Rajasegar. The 45-year-old senior operations manager said that he has seen tremendous improvement in his autistic teenage son, Vimal, since he started attending school at the Elliot Road centre.
The 14-year-old boy used to throw tantrums and would even refuse to go to school at times.

Now, Mr Rajasegar sees in his son an eagerness and happiness which he has never seen before. He attributes this change to the teachers and the new centre's "beautiful environment".

"These changes in him tell us that there is finally hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel," he said, adding that his only wish is for Vimal to be independent.
 
EARLY INTERVENTION INTENSIVE THERAPY FOR KIDS
Believe in your childand give them opportunity to use their potential to become more independent[you][/you]

The Cuevas Medek (CME) Intensive Therapy Program will be held in Singapore in July and August 2012. CME is an incredibly successful mode of physical therapy that is suitable for young children between 2 and 8 with cerebral palsy and other Neuro-motor developmental conditions that have affectedgross motor function (abilities to sit, stand, walk) .

Limitedplaces are available for 2-hour intensive sessions that will be held:
· 30 June – 15 July 2012
· 20 August – 31 August 2012

For further information and registration, please email absolutezerolimits.ap@gmail.com
 

Ekari

Member
this is a great compilation useful even just for referencing purposes. Ill add in any centres if I found one.
 
thanks, have seen this
Not really useful to my dear daughter cos multiple disabilites n if need to go thru VWOs for discounted therapies, household income exceed $1500 wont get much subsidy.:embarrassed:


Govt still NOT very helpful. If they really want to help special needs families, they shld at least raise the household income to $3k or $4k, not $1500/month in order to get subsidised rate. After all, therapies, schooling and equipment are much costly than a normal child. To attend 1hr therapy, would easily kiss bye-bye to $100 - 150.

Hi, truly agree. We tried to get subsidy but in vain. husband's earning exceed $1.5K. Such a high living cost, 3k earning is no great deal. Seem to us, Govt not really sincere to help. :nah::nah:
 

CharlieB

New Member
Autism Consultant moving to Singapore October 2013 - families needed

Hi everyone!

I hope this is a good place to post my information. My husband and I will be moving to Singapore in October, and I am looking for some wonderful families to work with. My husband will be teaching at Chatsworth East, so we will be based in that area.
I am offering the following services: assessing, devising and overseeing ABA home programs, providing consulting to schools (should your child be in mainstream school and you need either a shadow, or coaching provided to their teacher(s)), providing social skills training, home-schooling (using ABA methodology) or parent training. I am also happy to provide basic ABA workshops and train up therapists, run monthly meetings as needed.

Here is some info below about my background - contact details below. I do look forward to hearing from you!


I am an autism consultant with a Masters in Psychology (University of St.Andrews, Scotland) and over 11 years' experience in the field of Applied Behavioural Analysis, working 1:1 and within schools, with children ages 2-18 with ASD/Aspergers and other developmental disabilities. As of January 2014, I will have my BCBA certification (Board Certification in Behavior Analysis).
My husband has been offered a job at Chatsworth East, beginning in August this year, so we will be moving to Singapore shortly! I will be one of only a handful of Behavior Analysts in Singapore and would love to offer my services to a wonderful family.

Within the home, BCBAs provide consulting, implementation and overseeing of ABA home programs. Within schools, BCBAs collaborate closely with teachers, speech therapists and other support staff - as well as working directly 1:1 with students- taking observational data, creating intervention plans based on collected data and ensuring that program updates are systematic in their approach and based on data-based criteria. Target areas could be behavioral issues within the classroom, social skills, academics or self-help skills, to name a few. BCBAs also coach teachers in the basics of ABA, which can be useful to teach good behavior management, troubleshoot specific issues within a classroom, or help a teacher manage a student with behavioral issues/learning difficulties within a mainstream class or special education class.


I began my work with children with autism in 2002, in London. Here, I worked at the fantastic TreeHouse School, the pioneering ABA school in the UK. Over the course of two years I was promoted to mentor and aided with the training of new therapists. I left TreeHouse in order to move to Sydney for 18 months. Here I worked for Giant Steps School, as a ABA therapist and head of mainstream integration, and the Lizard Centre, as a home therapist for children with ASD/Aspergers. On returning to London, I was awarded an international internship in California with Autism Partnership, the world's leading autism (ABA) agency. I trained as a Parenting Coach while in California, specializing in helping parents of children with autism, behavioral and emotional issues, before moving to work for Autism Spectrum Therapies, one of California's largest ABA agencies. There I worked as Lead Behavior Interventionsit in their north LA office.





In 2009, my husband and I moved to North Carolina (USA), where I worked for Let's Talk Speech and Language Inc., and have also been working as a freelance autism consultant for the past 3 years. In 2011, I also facilitated a post-doc research project (through University of North Carolina, with Dr. Joshua Plavnick), studying the effects of video modeling on social skills in adolescents with ASD. My work continues to be with children ages 3-18, both within home programs, and within schools. I currently have a contract with PACE Academy, where I am specifically helping the transition and integration of a 16 year old with ASD, into a mainstream school environment. I am also working part-time with a 12 year old with anxiety/severe OCD as well as ASD, where I am overseeing a home-school program, based on the principles of ABA. I also do a large amount of work with teens/young adults, focusing on employment skills.

Here are links to the organizations I have worked for:




Home - Ambitious about Autism London



Lizard Children's Centre - Australia's leading ABA Clinic for the treatment of Autism and related disorders Sydney
Welcome to Giant Steps | Giant Steps Sydney

Autism Partnership Los Angeles
Autism Spectrum Therapies Los Angeles
letstalk | Caring About Communication Through Play! Raleigh, North Carolina

And a little information about ABA, should you be new to this type of therapy: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) | What is Autism?/Treatment | Autism Speaks







Please free to email me at charlievbell76@gmail for further information.

Thanks!

Charlotte Bell, (MA) Hons Psych







 

Teacher Koo

New Member
Certified special needs tutor available for tuition assignments

Dear parents,

I am a trained special education teacher, currently teaching in a local SPED school. I possess a Diploma in Special Education from NIE and a Certificate in Autism from Autism Resource Centre (Pathlight), accredited with University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. I currently have 4 years of teaching experience and I'm also currently giving special needs tuition on a freelance basis for a year now.

My expertise lies in adapting Literacy and Maths curriculum to cater to your child's learning needs and understanding at all levels. I am also experienced in applying Structured Teaching and ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) in my course of teaching. Rates are between $40 - $80 p/hr depending on your child's cognitive level as well as age.

Feel free to contact me at teacher.koo07@gmail.com for more details. Thank you.
 
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lovekids1102

New Member
hi, my daughter is diagnosed with mild learning difficulties and I have been looking around for some courses to help her. wonder if you have heard of brainfit and how is it there?
 

megmom

New Member
Re: Useful Organisations, Specialists Schools and Therapies

hi, my daughter is diagnosed with mild learning difficulties and I have been looking around for some courses to help her. wonder if you have heard of brainfit and how is it there?
Hi you may want to look at care corner.They have educational courses n movement class that helps mild learning difficulties.
Alternatively if you are keen Bridging Talents and september 21 do organized courses n you may find it worthwhile to attend them.
 

Angelmum

Moderator
Re: Useful Organisations - Drop-in Disability Programme, above 16 years old

[SUP]NEW DROP-IN PROGRAMME WIDENS RANGE OF ADULT CARE OPTIONS FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES[/SUP]



[SUP]Persons with disabilities can look forward to a new Drop-in Disability Programme at the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities (THKMC) Senior Activity Centres in Telok Blangah and Ang Mo Kio. This programme is part of a larger effort to widen the range of adult care options for persons with disabilities. [/SUP]


[SUP]The programme is open to persons with disabilities above 16 years old, with minimal care needs and no major behavioural issues. They can participate in social and recreational activities for a few hours a day, a few times a week. Through this programme, persons with disabilities will have also more opportunities to interact with other members of the community, including the elderly at the senior activity centres. Their caregivers will benefit from the short periods of respite from care-giving. [/SUP]


[SUP]At the official launch of the pilot programme, Acting Minister for Social and Family Development Mr Chan Chun Sing said, “This Drop-in Disability Programme facilitates social engagement and community integration of persons with disabilities. It also benefits caregivers by giving them a short respite. This pilot programme is an example of our continuing efforts to try out new service ideas to build a more inclusive society.”[/SUP]


[SUP]Chairman of THKMC, Mr Lee Kim Siang noted the positive interactions between the persons with disabilities and other users of the senior activity centres. He said “This is a good opportunity to promote inter-generational bonding. It is heartening to see the elderly and the young persons with disabilities enjoy each other’s company.” [/SUP]


[SUP]Interested applicants for the pilot programme can contact Ms Eileen Wong at 64714293 or eileenwong@thkmc.org.sg.[/SUP]

[SUP]Two more pilot drop-in programmes are planned for this year. Under the Enabling Masterplan 2012-2016, the MSF will also enhance care services and provide a wider range of options for adults with disabilities. More Adult Disability Homes (ADHs) and Day Activity Centres (DACs) will also be set up. MSF will add about 450 places to the existing 1,000 places at DACs, and 2,400 places to the existing 830 places in the ADHs by 2020.



[/SUP]Not something user-friendly or beneficial. The cons:
1) person must be above 16 years old
2) person with minimal care needs and no major behavioural issues.
3) can participate in social and recreational activities for a few hours a day

For decades, persons below 16 years old were intentionally forgotten. My child has no daycare or childcare centre to take her in while I work Mon to Fri. The centres’ (including current Student Care centres or Nursing Homes) criteria are too rigid. Therefore, many special needs parents were forced to employ domestic maids. FDWs are not the best choice and are not cheap (after adding live-in costs and the problems that are tagged to them).



http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-drop-in-programme-for/792884.html
The two centres -- run by the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities -- are located at Telok Blangah Crescent and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6.
The initiative is offered under the new Drop-in Disability Programme launched on Wednesday by Acting Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing, at the senior activity centre in Telok Blangah. The pilot programme is open to persons with disabilities above 16 years old, who require minimal care and do not have major behavioural issues.

They can take part in social and recreational activities such as art and craft, singing and music at the centres
The programme is open at the two centres from 9am to noon, Mondays to Fridays. Each individual can drop in at the centres for up to three days per week and up to three hours per visit, since each centre can only take care of up to seven individuals at a time.
Interested individuals can contact Eileen Wong at 6471-4293 or at
eileenwong@thkmc.org.sg to register.

The centres will also take in individuals in the afternoon, but the time is dependent on the arrangement between the individuals and the centres. Under this programme, these individuals will have more opportunities to interact with members of the community, and their caregivers will benefit from the short periods of respite from care-giving.

Mr Chan said: "It provides relief for the caregivers, which is very important. Today, many of the caregivers will need time off to do their own personal administration… sometimes they may need to go get a job. This (programme) will provide some form of a relief for the personal caregiver, and caregiver help is something we want to push going forward."

Cherry Chua, a caregiver, said: "I find that she (the person she is caring for) has improved a lot. And she has learned quite a fair bit of self-independence and patience. It helps me in a way… relieves some tension (when) somebody (takes over) for that period of time.
“And I find that things that I really cannot teach her -- what to do and what not to do, the right method, this programme has picked up and helped me to educate her.”

The Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) said the programme is part of a larger effort to widen the range of adult care options for persons with disabilities. It said two more pilot drop-in programmes are planned for this year at Bedok South and MacPherson.
 
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Angelmum

Moderator
Caregivers of mentally ill need a break too
Caregivers of mentally ill need a break too, Published on Sep 02, 2013 – from ST forum

NEWLY promoted Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing has launched the free pilot drop-in programme for people with disabilities ("Break for caregivers with drop-in programme"; last Thursday). The pilot programme is open to all those who have physical or intellectual disabilities, but not to those with major behavioural issues. Is this fair?

Caregivers of loved ones with physical and intellectual disabilities will benefit from this new support scheme, and as Madam Joanne Ong rightly pointed out in the report, it is very tiring to be a caregiver. But the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) must also be mindful that caring for a loved one with mental illness is much more tiring, daunting and draining.

Yet, caregivers in this category are once again left out in the cold, and are deprived of support. :we2arghh: I have every confidence that if psychiatrists give a letter to confirm that their patients are responding well to treatment, are lucid and can function well, this new initiative can also be extended to their caregivers. Is MSF prepared to do this and think out of the box?

When I wrote to The Straits Times in May and gave suggestions on more respite options for caregivers of the mentally ill ("Offer more respite options for caregivers"; May 20), the Ministry of Health (MOH) replied that it fully agreed with me and would consider these ideas ("MOH to continue enhancing respite care options for caregivers"; May 27).

Yet, the MSF omits support for this group. The MSF and MOH must work in tandem to provide better support for caregivers of the mentally ill and not sideline this group of marginalised citizens - more so when the Government wants to ensure fair and just practices.

Raymond Anthony Fernando
 
I am a trainer specialised in incorporating academic work with cognitive training. I have been in this line for more than 8 years and worked with many autistic children as young as 4 years old. Through cognitive training, these children are able to show better eye contact, less afraid of strangers and able to speak more appropriately when communicating. To learn more, do not hesitate to email me at brainmindsters@gmail.com or visit my facebook page for tips and information (look for 'Brain Mindsters').

-Jeslyn
 

michellelim75

New Member
Hi Mommies!

YOU ARE INVITED to Olive Tree EduCenter Open House on
14 & 21 March 10 am-5pm.

Highlights :

* Free Parents Talks on School Readiness, Early Intervention, Speech, Occupational and Education Therapy. (10.30am-2.30pm)
* Free Music Therapy and Art Experiential Workshops.
* Free Consultation and Screening by ST, OT, ET (Register for apt for new students only)
* Free Registration for our March Term 2 Early Intervention Program

Venue :1 Goldhill Plaza #03-27 Podium Block
www.olive-tree.sg/educentre.

olivee.jpg

The Early Intervention Program run by therapists includes Free Occupational Therapy (OT), Speech Therapy (ST) and Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) Training. There will also be a monthly training by the Therapists with parents!

Do drop by if you're interested to know more!
 

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C Chan

New Member
Dear Parents,

I am currently in my second year of my Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology course at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom. I am conducting my thesis on parental experiences of the inclusion of their child in preschools, in England and Singapore.

I would like to invite you to participate in this study if:
1) You are a parent of a child who accesses additional educational support
2) Your child is between the ages of 3 years to 6 years 11 months, and
3) Your child is attending a formal educational setting.

If you participate in this study, you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire that will take around 10 to 15 minutes to complete. This will involve responding to some questions and you will be asked to provide ratings on your views on the statements.

You may be contacted to participate in a second part of the study if you indicate interest. Four participants will be asked to participate in a semi-structured interview to discuss further their views and experiences of inclusion. This will be scheduled to occur some time between July 2015 and September 2015, and will take place at a location that is conducive and accessible to you. The interview is expected to last around one hour.

If you would like to participate in this study, or would like more information, please contact me, Calista Chan, at cjchan1@sheffield.ac.uk. This project has been ethically approved by the university ethics review committee. All participants will be provided with a Participation Information Sheet and a Consent Form before participation, and all information collected during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Calista

Calista Chan
Year 2 Trainee Educational Psychologist
University of Sheffield
 
Hi Parents, if your child has a natural love for music and you would like to help him/her to:
- increase focus and attention skills
- improve memory retention
- encourage speech and communication through music
- strengthen hand-eye coordination
- foster a love for learning

Consider signing up for our piano lessons where we use music as an educational therapy to help your child achieve these objectives.

We understand that every special needs child is different. Thus our music curriculum is customised to suit each child's needs after the initial assessment. Our certified piano teacher, armed with a truckload of patience and years of experience, will guide the child to meet the learning objectives and developmental goals.

Register for a trial class today by sending us a message via WhatsApp at 80230602. Feel free also to reach out to us if you have any questions!
***
 

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