Issue : Vision for adults with special needs
and their life after parents have passed on
• Interview and questionnaire developed to
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elicit views from educational psychologist,
social worker and parents were done.
Questions was pilot tested with wife
Interview protocol of calling, explaining and
getting a voluntary participation was done
prior to interviewing
Interview/Questionnaire Q and Findings
A. Educational Psychologist
• Q1. What are the primary skills set taught in the curriculum that would
prepare them for the next learning institution which would also help
them in their adulthood?
Life Skills with emphasis on
• Work habits (length of time to stay on the task 4 hr goal)
• Follow Expectations of adult via scheduled structured task
• Adapting to changes
• Q2. What is the main goal of educational psychological assessment?
What are the skills you are focusing on?
To asses what should be the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and
to report accordingly on suitability for placement into different
organizations.
• Q3.: How do you carry out an assessment on the child?
– By following standardized test with modification if needed
– If modification made, no scoring for that item but will be reported
– Can buy assessment report from psychologist in which will be
modified to layman’s terms
– can request copy of report written by teacher
Interview/Questionnaire Q and Findings
A. Educational Psychologist
• Q4. Is there any other assessment in addition to this form
to give a fuller picture of the child’s ability?
– Teacher and parent’s feedback
– Personal observation
– Depending on child’s mood, stress level and suitability
for reliable assessment, sessions may be adjusted
accordingly.
• Q5. Does the school have a follow-up program after the
child leaves for the next institution to facilitate and help in
their transition? Do you track what happens to the children
that leaves for other institution?
– No
– Adhoc basis and by chance meetings
– Personal basis of teacher
– Would be good to have longitudinal tracking
Interview/Questionnaire Q and Findings
B. Social Worker
• Q1: What kind of future, as in jobs, do ASD adults have in
Singapore? What is the reality like?
– Mainly sheltered workshops.
– Financial help but not enough for independent living
– Jobs not easy to come by but there are employment
agencies
• Q2. Who can they turn to for help if they are in trouble (e.g.
job, finance, social and integration problems) that will oversee
their well-being long-term?
– Parents, friends and VWO
• Q3: What are the options available and help for ASD adults
when their parents have passed away?
– Homes
– Need to know VWO to help in referral
– Hospitals can refer
Interview/Questionnaire Q and Findings
C. Parents
• Q1. What do you hope for your child with
special needs when he becomes an adult?
– Meaningful and quality living
– Job in sheltered workshop
– Tracking and overseeing of well-being by someone
• Q2. What do you think need to be in place for
this to happen?
– Enough sheltered workshops for jobs
– Respected, accepted and assisted in dignified ways
Interview/Questionnaire Q and Findings
C. Parents
Q3. What do you think can be done for people
with special needs when their parents have
passed on?
– Homes with trustworthy care, provision and
protection
– Trust worthy relatives
• Q4. What do you think can be done now to
ensure that it will happen?
– Ensure enough homes that are credible
– Tracking to ensure knowledge of status of wellbeing
– Consolidation of information for help sources and
sharing of this information to all
– Link up with VWO to ensure continuity of help.
– Streamlined and co-ordinated help services
Lessons Learnt
• Need for co-ordinating body to streamline all Voluntary Welfare
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Organisation (VWO) for efficient and effective joint admission of
services and help to all parents and children with disabilities. Single
point of application and helicopter view of all available vacancies, as
well as to track and provide continuity of tracking & services (from
cradle to grave), advise and welfare considerations. Documentation
of characteristics, learning outcomes, etc to be centralised and
made easily accessible by all caring organisations for more effective
intervention and continuity of curriculum for child.
More homes will be needed
Consolidation, publicising, & sharing of understanding of all
available services and how to tap into it, especially for parents who
have just discovered the reality
Leverage on existing VWO organisation for efficiency
Tied up with educational institution, MCDS, NCSS and MOE for
proposal paper for social improvement
Learnt from other countries models of social improvement that we
can leverage from