REACH 552 - What are your views on existing programmes for children with developmental needs? How can we ensure that these children can be better supported?
(SK)
18 Mar 2024 (10am - 7pm)
REACH
18/3/24, 10:14 am - +REACH: *Dear Contributors,*
Welcome back! π
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Megan π
18/3/24, 10:16 am - +REACH: π’ *Topic* π’
According to the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) the annual number of referrals to subsidized programmes for children with developmental needs, such as the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC), has increased significantly over the past four years partly due to enhanced early screening and detection. This has contributed to longer wait times as referrals consistently exceed enrolments.
MSF added that in 2023, the average wait time for EIPIC was 7.5 months. On March 6, Minister of State for Social and Family Development Sun Xueling announced that another 1,500 places will be added to EIPIC and EIPIC-P in 2024, with the addition of four new early intervention centres to help ensure that more children with developmental needs can receive timely support.
π¬ *What are your views on existing programmes for children with developmental needs? How can we ensure that these children can be better supported?*
π *_Long wait times_*
According to Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua, the longer wait times are due to several factors. While the special needs sector is facing an increase in demand due to higher public awareness of autism, it is also dealing with a general shortage in trained and skilled professionals in addition to relatively high staff turnover.
π *_Enrolling as Private Clients_*
According to Ms Beatrice Teo, a speech therapist and director of EIPIC-P centre Headstart for Life, children are referred to EIPIC centres through public hospitals or pediatric clinics, a process that involves several steps. No referral letter is needed for those enrolling as private clients but this would come at increased cost.
π *_Other challenges_*
Some parents noted that after securing a spot in an EIPIC centre, they eventually decided against enrolling their children there because it did not suit their working schedule as it would involve travelling to inconvenient locations. Other parents also shared that the subsidised programmes were not long enough and did not lead to much improvement in their children’s condition.
πhttps://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/long-wait-times-for-early-intervention-push-parents-of-kids-with-developmental-needs-to-private-sector
18/3/24, 10:21 am - ~ REACH Singapore changed the group description
18/3/24, 10:21 am - ~ REACH Singapore changed this group's settings to allow all members to send messages to this group
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18/3/24, 10:32 am - +Rama: Manpower and costs along with qualified help need to be addressed .
18/3/24, 11:35 am - +REACH: *Dear Contributors*
We want to *HEAR MORE* from you!
π¬ *What are your views on existing programmes for children with developmental needs? How can we ensure that these children can be better supported?*
We have had good feedback from this group, and we hope that we can keep the discussion robust and active!
Megan π
18/3/24, 2:01 pm - +REACH: π’ *Topic* π’
18/3/24, 2:42 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. This topic is very niche and difficult to provide constructive feedback unless :
a. Parents have child that is autism and require early intervention.
b. Parents and child going through the enrolment and course.
2. The devil is always in the detail and only going through it - will problem surface before we can provide constructive feedback.
3. But on the surface as read:-
a. Child with autism requires early intervention by trained specialists - to help them learn and engage in appropriate social behavior - so that children with autism can integrate well with the society.
b. Due to good early screening and detection, more cases are single out and hence more places are needed - result in demand exceeding supply - hence long waiting time up to several months to a year - for heavily subsidised programme.
c. This result in parents putting their child into private centres but cost more than 100%.
4. Wonder if the Govenment can consider to help Parents of such need for their austic children to :-
a. Put up in private centre by the Parents - & allow Parents to pay Government subsidise fees and pay private centre the rest of the fees (by an agreed lower price with participating private centre - in economies of scale) - and not the current private charge price.
This arrangement is "stop-gap" measure - while waiting to build Government subsidise intervention centre (and such arrangement will only last for 1 year per child).
b. Build intervention centres at convenient places such as near MRT - so that it is easy for parents to travel and put their child in the centre.
c. The placement time should be the same as pre-school - so that it make it easier for parents to work and at the same time, sufficient time to fetch their children home after work.
18/3/24, 2:50 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
As only about 1,500 to 2,000 children require such needs, about $1,600 a month - government subsidies will come to $38.4 million for 1 year.
Unlike private hospitals fees whereby 80% of public health comes from private sector - which is a whooping $21.6 billion - for 100% medical coverage.
18/3/24, 3:13 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cultivated-meat-producer-eat-just-pauses-operations-in-singapore1
Cultivated meat producer Eat Just pauses operations in Singapore.
18/3/24, 3:13 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. On another topic, food security seems to have encounter some problem.
2. Private funds, start-ups have dried up as cell culture meat challenges cannot be fully overcome in the short term, namely:-
a. Texture close to real meat is still a big gap.
b. Cost of production and ingredient cost still very high - hence cell culture meat price is not attractive and much higher than real meat.
c. Only nutrition and nutrients can be assured for consumers.
3. This means we will have difficulty meeting our 30-30 Food Security target.
4. An analogy of our water security - whereby newater and desalination water will meet our water security target - similar to plant based meat and cell culture meat will be our food security. As they can be locally produced - and not at the mercy of import. <This message was edited>
18/3/24, 3:13 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Notice that Government, R&D bodies and Universities are still in the thick of seeking breakthrough in the:-
1. Texture that are close to real meat.
2. Costs that are comparable or below the real meats.
3. Nutrients that are equivalent or better than the real meats.
Many articles reveal that public sectors have not given up on cell culture meat.
Though private sector funds have dried up - as the breakthrough unlikely to be short term.
Breakthrough likely to be in the long term.
Scientists have now turn their attention in using AI, Machine Learning - to seek a breakthrough.
18/3/24, 3:13 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
That is, multi-modal discipline in the field of biotechnology, physics, medical science, computer science AI, and probably other disciplines need to rope in to achieve a breakthrough.
It no longer can rely on 1 discipline or 1 faculty - to achieve the breakthrough.
For example, AI could use LLM, ChatGpt to pull unrelated disciplines eg. Magnetic field, medical science etc to biotechnology domain to achieve a breakthrough in terms of cost, efficiency and reliability in cell culture and tissue re-engineering - that traditional scientists have not thought off - as they are unfamiliar with other disciplines.
But AI can bridge such barriers.
18/3/24, 3:31 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Scientists develop novel technique to grow meat in the lab using magnetic field.
by National University of Singapore
https://phys.org/news/2022-09-scientists-technique-meat-lab-magnetic.html
18/3/24, 3:31 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
"Soy scaffolds: Breakthrough in cultivated meat production
by American Technion Society".
Tissue engineering technology initially use for medical science - relevant to cell culture tissue re-engineering meat.
https://phys.org/news/2020-03-soy-scaffolds-breakthrough-cultivated-meat.html#:~:text=Soy%20scaffolds%3A%20Breakthrough,American%20Technion%20Society
18/3/24, 3:31 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
"Singapore: Using an AI/ML Approach to Meat and Seafood Production".
Singapore using AI and Machine Learning to achieve breakthrough in cell culture meat production.
https://opengovasia.com/2022/06/24/singapore-using-an-ai-ml-approach-to-meat-and-seafood-production/#:~:text=Singapore%3A%20Using%20an%20AI/ML%20Approach%20to%20Meat%20and%20Seafood%20Production
18/3/24, 4:01 pm - +REACH: π’ *Topic* π’
18/3/24, 5:23 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors*
We want to *HEAR MORE* from you!
π¬ *What are your views on existing programmes for children with developmental needs? How can we ensure that these children can be better supported?*
We have had good feedback from this group, and we hope that we can keep the discussion robust and active!
Thank you!
Megan π
18/3/24, 5:42 pm - +Smiley face: 18 March, 2024
"Hope My Child Will Be Alright?"
"Let's start examining a toddler's E-N-T.
The importance of earliest identifying of child at the medical front of autism to other related disorder from psycho motor skills, learning milestones and speech difficulties are challenges that need longer time-line and parents support and patience in curing simpler cases from two years and even longer for complex cases; all of these interventions will be costly and may not be effective.
Thus the policies on medical and education will have to be catered to these special needs children to minimise further learning disabilities and the subsequent abilities of children to integrate into society for whatsoever means to live on and perhaps it's timely for parents to save up for their children future.
A profound realm of the reality that these children will face as the years passed on and their parents too passed on. Pitiful! "
-- anonymity
18/3/24, 5:47 pm - +Sunny: My points are more for policy, big-picture discussions rather than anything about specific logistics. I am not a parent with a kid with development needs, so that is something I can’t speak to. I do, however, have experience being friends and family to people with special needs. Here’s what I could contribute:
1) There tends to be an impression that Early Intervention can ‘prevent’ kids from developing issues or ‘fix’ kids with development needs. Both of these are dangerous misconceptions, especially with regards to what parents expect their kids to be like after the early intervention program. It’s a small thing I gleaned from the end (regarding why some parents pulled out), but I think there should be greater public education regarding neurodiversity and what that means for different children. Some can learn to handle themselves better - but they aren’t “getting better”. They will still have autism, but the difference is they understand themselves better and therefore can better handle themselves.
2) Staff turnover rate is no surprise. From what I heard from a friend working in SPED, the quality of teachers, low salaries and shortage of staff make the field difficult to enter. People are less likely to be able to sustain a proper living working in SPED. Funding therefore is pertinent.
3) There is something to be said about our cultural attitudes towards individuals (and children) with special needs and people associated with said individuals (including family, teachers, classmates). There is a heavy tendency to stigmatise this group, and I think this isolates parents from being able to find social group help. I also think that this stigma deters people interested in teaching from going into SPED. The respectability of a job also impacts people’s tendency to be drawn into such an area.
4) Subject to capacity and resources, I do think hospitals and community centres should try to start social groups for parents with kids with development. Although this is informal, it helps these parents feel less isolated and have avenues to get community support and guidance. I am cognizant of the fact that there are facebook groups to this effect, but in-person groups may also be more accessible to certain people.
5) I do think that ECIPs cannot be the only means for parents to help their children. I am aware of ACS’ plans to build a SPED school (what the fees would be, I’m not sure), but long-term support and training is definitely an important part in helping the child grow into an independent adult, whatever extent that may be (see point 1).
18/3/24, 5:51 pm - +Smiley face: The earliest observation, identification of learning and speaking and listening abilities of toddlers and immediate therapeutic interventions should begin at two years old and follow up treatments for the next critical two to four years of a child's development milestones and further onto Primary school or Special school, for children that facing more complex mental challenges.
The sourcing of talents from speech therapist to child psychologist are not easily achieved from the simple idea of ramping and intensive hiring process. If experience is one important attribute in selecting talents in all of these early childhood education and expertise. Perhaps, right from the day a fresh graduate to an experienced speech therapist or physio therapist, it takes up to ten years of practice and experience to achieve a thorough understanding and know-how in dealing with each unique child's special needs to better treatments, minimising damage and hopefully to cure as many children as possible against the background of multiple failures. New laws must be built-in to strengthen and to prevent abuse and or bullying of these small group in our community.
18/3/24, 5:57 pm - +Frankie Wee: Special education have a lot of faced social problems and difficulty understanding self discipline and low intelligence levels.
Normally they will growth a lot of challenges themselves even plan for worse mental or emotional.
What is the best for them accepted to stay on learn and working balance life destress
18/3/24, 6:00 pm - +Smiley face: And how about early pregnancy tests to eliminate all defects before a child is born, is it that simple or there are some couples who treasure life over a choice of abortion?...
18/3/24, 6:00 pm - +REACH: π’ *Topic* π’
18/3/24, 6:01 pm - +Frankie Wee: Depends on woman willing to live and love child support instead abortion
18/3/24, 6:02 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Autism is not equivalent to low intelligence.
In fact some autism children excel academically.
I know of one that is doing his degree in a local university and he did very well in many of his exam.
18/3/24, 6:03 pm - +Frankie Wee: Parent’s love a child special but it’s not easy bring up the future child’s need special attention.
18/3/24, 6:04 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Also autism children can lead a normal life and start a marriage family.
Autism children can outlive their condition.
18/3/24, 6:04 pm - +Frankie Wee: Yes I have seemed before
18/3/24, 6:04 pm - +Frankie Wee: There are many type of psychological issues during born nature
18/3/24, 6:05 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Elon Musk is an autism.
He is the 2nd richest man in the world.
He also got a marriage family.
18/3/24, 6:06 pm - +Frankie Wee: He is use his brain chip inside
18/3/24, 6:07 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
He did not install a chip in his brain
He started the neuralink
18/3/24, 6:07 pm - +Frankie Wee: Yes correct
18/3/24, 6:08 pm - +Frankie Wee: Special person is discriminated against law
18/3/24, 6:08 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Einstein and Newton are autism.
They are the brightest scientists in the world. <This message was edited>
18/3/24, 6:16 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ: <Media omitted>
18/3/24, 6:18 pm - +Rama: Abortion is legal here plus sometimes decisions to keep or abort is not the decisions of the women but those around her.
18/3/24, 6:18 pm - +Rama: Agree
18/3/24, 6:19 pm - +Rama: What's the future for a child with special needs in the adult phase!?
18/3/24, 6:20 pm - +Frankie Wee: It’s likely age 35 phase is 16 behaviour
18/3/24, 6:21 pm - +Rama: Education without adequate employment opportunities is nothing.
18/3/24, 6:22 pm - +Frankie Wee: SG enable will help them have a opportunity employment
18/3/24, 6:22 pm - +65 9740 5395: Einstein and Newton are mentioned repeatedly, yet no mention on how the society have perceived them. Newton since young has been labelled as dumb and stupid by his teachers. Einstein has been known for his social awkwardness.
Autism is a disability which needs to be understood. The support structure has to be there and cannot be seen as a 2nd tier to our mainstream educators.
Why did i mention 2nd tier? I didnt know abt the remuneration difference between sped trs and mainstream trs until the recent announcement on sped trs increment. Even after increment, their pay range is from $3000-$7000, which is appalling in the high cost of living stds that Singapore has.
18/3/24, 6:24 pm - +Rama: For some women, their body is not a production factory so abortion is nothing. For others, only if one life is threatened, will consider abortion. Others, no on religious grounds.
18/3/24, 6:24 pm - +Rama: To lead a independent life is equally important
18/3/24, 6:25 pm - +Rama: Parents greatest worry is children life when they are gone.
18/3/24, 6:26 pm - +Frankie Wee: I fact this we all being humans like us and don’t treat badly or look down on them. But I know not easy on future bring up. I am award of this they will learned grown up themselves and independent
18/3/24, 6:26 pm - +Smiley face: Jobs for these small communities had to be
Specific, Relevant and achievable.
18/3/24, 6:26 pm - +Smiley face: Yes
18/3/24, 6:30 pm - +Frankie Wee: Maybe sent them age folk care centre <This message was edited>
18/3/24, 6:34 pm - +Rama: Community and neighbourhood support is better once parents are gone from this world.
18/3/24, 6:36 pm - +Rama: This will show we are a truly inclusive society.
18/3/24, 6:36 pm - +Frankie Wee: I believe
18/3/24, 6:37 pm - +Rama: There should be no reference to social or financial status, religion or atheist , skin colour or sexual orientation or income/house hold type.
18/3/24, 6:39 pm - +Frankie Wee: Need to make them understanding the difference things between relationships.
18/3/24, 6:44 pm - +Rama: Expect a clash between upbringing at home and what is taught in schools.
18/3/24, 6:45 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors,*
⏰ We will be closing the chat in *15 minutes* ⏰
Thank you very much for being part of our WhatsApp chat and participating actively.
Goodnight!
Megan π
18/3/24, 6:49 pm - +Rama: Peer pressure and religious authorities add to the confusion.
18/3/24, 6:56 pm - +Shobith: Caring for children with special needs is extremely important and government should engage all its facilities to support the kids and their parents..
There are limited facilities available now and if these itself are bound by long lead times, where will the parents go to with their kids and how can they manage?
There are several tragic cases whereby the anxiety and constant worries about the kids turning parents to depression..
Also the recent tragic case of parent fatally harming the kids, as their mental condition destabilise..
Please do all you can to support the parents and kids ..
18/3/24, 6:57 pm - +Rama: Every citizen matters!
18/3/24, 6:59 pm - +Smiley face: 18 March, 2024
"Hope My Child Will Be Alright?"
"Let's start examining a toddler's E-N-T.
The importance of earliest identifying of child at the medical front of autism to other related disorder from psycho motor skills, learning milestones and speech difficulties are challenges that need longer time-line and parents support and patience in curing simpler cases from two years and even longer for complex cases; all of these interventions will be costly and may not be effective.
Thus the policies on medical and education will have to be catered to these special needs children to minimise further learning disabilities and the subsequent abilities of children to integrate into society for whatsoever means to live on and perhaps it's timely for parents to save up for their children future.
A profound realm of the reality that these children will face as the years passed on and their parents too passed on. Pitiful! "
-- anonymity
Have you experience tip of the tongue moments when you are unable to express words at that very moment? Instantaneously, you are stuck wordless or speechless. Young toddlers and school going Kids with cognitive disabilities are finding such TOT moments frustrating in every moment of their childhood, playtime and maturing into adults. Will simple method such as listening to classical music help a little bit to soothe the distorted and highly wired and complicated neurons in the brain? And how about early pregnancy tests to eliminate all defects before a child is born, is it that simple or there are some couples who treasure life over a choice of abortion?
The earliest observation, identification of learning and speaking and listening abilities of toddlers and immediate therapeutic interventions should begin at two years old and follow up treatments for the next critical two to four years of a child's development milestones and further onto Primary school or Special school, for children that facing more complex mental challenges.
The sourcing of talents from speech therapist to child psychologist are not easily achieved from the simple idea of ramping and intensive hiring process. If experience is one important attribute in selecting talents in all of these early childhood education and expertise. Perhaps, right from the day a fresh graduate to an experienced speech therapist or physio therapist, it takes up to ten years of practice and experience to achieve a thorough understanding and know-how in dealing with each unique child's special needs to better treatments, minimising damage and hopefully to cure as many children as possible against the background of multiple failures. New laws must be built-in to strengthen and to prevent abuse and or bullying of these small group in our community.
Parents with children who are suffering from another of the above medical challenges often themselves constantly combating with stress, anxieties and disappointments. Financial ability to sustain a prolonged therapy is one big challenge especially to middle income and lower income families. In some cases, parents would give up hope in their children's conditions and thus leading to family breaking up is one consequence to happen.
From the past to now. These existing complexity of the early childhood medical issues that lead to later on in life are all life's tough choices and decisions to make and often enough many mistakes along the way that amounting to not just dollars and cents but a profound realm of the reality that these children will face as the years passed on and their parents too passed on. So where can Society affirms together tomorrow to cushion the Pitfall of stigmatisation, economics support and livelihoods of these pitiful children, we acknowledge them as one of us!
Afterwords:
"If the basic instincts of humankind is to act, react or to counteract. Into the further future, perhaps, there will be good chances of many scientific breakthrough and a profound knowledge of changing the mind within the structure of the brain using artificial means and real-time synthesis of cells and understand a new DNA sequence and defects...."
- - anonymity
Chances for Changes?
Into the further future, the technology and science of embryonic may shine many hopes in discovering of abnormal cells in the early stage of pregnancy in this case, the FIRST trimester of pregnancy. The egg cell and the sperm cell fertilized (synthesized) into a new DNA sequencing and defects.
Another profound breakthrough will be in the field of Neuroscience using AI as the tool to teach, to observe and to train the newly planted nanochips (three chips). The overall after effects of this neuro intervention will allow the human brain to rediscover what was not possible and to retrain and relearn what will be the possible tasks. It's like the effect of a blind person having gained full visual of a normal person. The key elements of the AI tool is to guide the training process together with neuronogists, therapists and coding engineers onboard to familiarize the patient and to normalize the new neurocodes to perform like any normal people. The embedded nanochips are recodable over time to higher abilities with set limit of functions and not overloading the brain. The spectrum of succees will be across age groups and depends on the underlying mental conditions and or physical abilities of individuals.
If the above scientific breakthrough comes true, can we also use it to rehabilitate the mind of criminals, drug addicts, potential terrorists and behavior such as radicalization into a brand-new socially acceptable behaviors and a new mental realm?
- - in progress - -
18/3/24, 7:00 pm - +REACH: Dear Contributors,
We will be closing the chat for today.
Thank you very much for being part of our WhatsApp chat and participating actively.
Goodnight!
Megan π
18/3/24, 7:00 pm - ~ REACH Singapore changed this group's settings to allow only admins to send messages to this group
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