All About Autism

[Woon_D]

kay_liz:

Why I am doing speech therapy now is because she is also having the therapy at CDU while waiting for enrolment to EIPIC. But the frequency is too short, like once a month! I know it is not addressing the overall condition of my child, but I was hoping to do something while waiting.... I have submitted my application to the government EIPIC centre but waiting to see the final monthly costs. If too high, i am not able to enrol her, then I have no other options, do I?

Hi kay_liz, great that you are doing all you can and looking for alternatives to support your child's learning.

Your solution of going to DAS because it offers therapy is not a bad decision. It is just worthwhile noting that most therapists at DAS focus mostly on children above 7 years of age and primarily provide therapy for Phonemic awareness and development (learning to read/ write). There are other therapists who primarily provide therapy for younger children with GDD/ASD/dyslexia, etc. These therapists would be more aligned and attuned to your child's learning needs in my opinion.

As you have stated, there are not many private centers that cater to children with developmental difficulties. Their waitlist is long, they cost a bomb and they only have limited locations. I understand that your child has GDD. Is he very far behind? Depending on how your child is functioning in his current childcare, it may not be necessary for him to go to an EIPIC center or integrated childcare/ private childcare.

Bringing these two aforementioned points together, some parents have opted to stay at their current childcare and to supplement it with some home based therapy that is more focused on helping the child reach their developmental milestones in a more systematic and targeted manner. This includes home based early intervention services/ OT/ physio/ speech therapy services.

An example would be to have a speech therapist come in about once a week (market rate is ~ $180-$250 for home based services/ Speech bubbles charges $160/hr), and an early intervention teacher (market rate is ~$80 - 100). This way, your child would not have to keep changing schools and teachers, allowing him to have more consistency in his routines and caregivers. But at the same time, he would get 2X targeted practice with a 1 to 1 therapist at home (where learning is better generalised) at about ~240 a week on top of his childcare. The speech therapist can also get in touch with his school teachers or make school visits to teach them about strategies and to implement the goals while your child is at his school to promote continuity of therapy.

I hope this opens up another avenue for you to consider. No doubt it is still very pricy but it would settle logistical headaches and you would be getting a private service with 1-1 therapy/ teaching.

Pls Pm me if you need contacts and if you like to chat more, being in this industry, I can help with helping you get some contacts if needed:)

Cheers.

[ntuasdstudy]

Hello,


We are a group from the Social and Affective Neuroscience (SAN) Lab, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). We are conducting a research to investigate how genes might interact with certain environmental factors, and how that may contribute to improving the relationship quality between mothers and their child with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

We are recruiting mothers aged 21 and above who have children with a diagnosis of ASD aged between 3-12 to participate in our paid study.

Our study consists of 2 portions - an online questionnaire and the collection of saliva samples from both mother and child either at home, at your child's center or at our lab.

If you are interested in participating in the study or have any queries regarding our study, you can contact us via the email or phone number provided below.

Thank you very much for your time.

Best regards,
Gillian Lee and Valerie Ng
Research Assistants (Undergraduate Psychology
Social & Affective Neuroscience Laboratory
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Telephone Number: 92280396 (Gillian)/ 96577613 (Valerie)
Email Address: ntuASDstudy@gmail.com
https://s18.postimg.org/ixsfbh2yh/NTU_ASD_Study.jpg\">

[Aceress]

Hi Kay_Liz,


Did the school inform you of the minimum wait time for your child to be enrolled?

I understand that you may feel anxious about the duration taken for your boy/girl to eventually start his/her EIPIC program.

Educating and caring for a child with special needs will require input of long-term resources. Do take the time needed to source for services and analyse the programmes before deciding to invest in them. You may observe the therapist/teacher's interactions with other students, note the emotional learning climate of the center and speak to other parents who are using the services if possible.

You may want to refer to SGEnable's website https://www.sgenable.sg/Pages/Content.aspx?path=/for-children/ for a list of centers which offer services for your child. There will be 2 tables. One for subsidised fees meant for Singaporean Citizens and PRs and the other in which baby bonus can be used. The lists are non-exhaustive as they are a number of centers that do not fall under these 2 categories. Hence, do cast your search beyond SGEnable.

Best Regards,
Aceress

[NUS-ASDstudy]

Dear parents/caregivers,


I am Eugene Kheng, currently an NUS Master of Clinical Psychology Year 2 student, and I would like to inform you about and invite you to participate in a research study I am currently conducting.

Project title: “Exploring Quality of Life in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder”

The goal of this study is to find out what factors are related to adolescents’ with autism general well-being. We also would like to better understand if what young people with autism know and believe about their own autism affects how good their life is (their quality of life). Currently, education and interventions for young people with autism mostly involve teaching skills and meeting needs, but we understand little about how young people get to know about their own autism and how this may affect their quality of life. Findings from this study may inform service providers (and the public) and may help make recommendations to improve people’s attitudes towards autism as a way to improve the quality of life of young people with autism and their families.

More information about the study is provided in the first page of the online survey link. The survey involves asking you questions about your child’s autism, their emotional, physical, and social well-being and their and your beliefs about their own autism. We will also ask you some questions about how good you think their life is. We would also like to hear from your sons or daughters if you think they would be interested to take part in the survey. You can take part as a pair or each one individually. The survey can be completed online and takes about 20 minutes.

To find out more about the study and to participate, kindly click on the link below

Parent/caregivers: http://nusbschool.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6MtAiYHgkOX2Bvv

Adolescents/ Young people with autism: http://nusbschool.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5jXQeXoBew5d4Q5

We hope you will share your experiences and views so that we can improve on the ways we can provide young people with autism with a better quality of life.

For more information or clarifications, please do not hesitate to contact me, Eugene Kheng, at eugene.kheng@u.nus.edu.

[Snow24]

Hi

How do you or what did you do to train your child to independently do his routines at bedtime,get ready for school etc.

[zac's mum]

Snow24:

Hi

How do you or what did you do to train your child to independently do his routines at bedtime,get ready for school etc.

I care across this video which shows a structured, independent morning routine for kids. It is useful for all kids, but maybe especially so for autistic kids? They would love the routine. Visual cues make it easier. Hope that helps!

https://www.facebook.com/LemonLimeAdventures/videos/1878458298861297/

[sharonkhoo]

Snow24:

Hi

How do you or what did you do to train your child to independently do his routines at bedtime,get ready for school etc.

Make a list, with pix if necessary. Teach each step and practise it daily until he gets it. Add a new step gradually as he masters it. Repeat the routine with the child daily, step by step, in the same order every day. Do it until he gets it (and it could take months!) and it becomes a habit. Don't be surprised if he forgets parts and needs retraining every now and again.

[kay_liz]

Hi Woon_D and Aceress,


Thank you for your replies. Yes the EIPIC centre which we initially selected was from SGenables. I don't have baby bonus to use because she has been in the childcare for more than a year, and it has long been used up. Anyway, I have managed to find a private early intervention learning centre for my child and it is near to my place. We now bring her for her lessons twice a week. Per session is 2 hours and I am seeing slow but definite progress in my child after about a month. At least she is able to write 1 or 2 alphabets and recognize a couple of them.

[Snow24]

Hi


What are the things that can be done to improve child’s writing stamina to be able to complete the worksheet within stipulated class time.

[Snow24]

Hi


What are the things that can be done to improve child’s writing stamina to be able to complete the worksheet within stipulated class time.