There are currently twenty-one local run Special Needs
Schools (given the title 'SPED' abbreviated for 'Special Education') in
Singapore. Each of these are run by 'Voluntary Welfare Organisations'
(VWO) and funded by the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the National
Council of Social Services (NCSS). The Voluntary Welfare Organisations
are as follows:
Asian Women's Welfare Association (AWWA)
Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN)
Autism Resource Centre (Singapore) (ARC)
Autism Association (Singapore) (AAS)
Canossian Daughters of Charity (CDC)
Metta Welfare Association (MWA)
Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS)
Presbyterian Community Services (PCS)
Rainbow Centre (RC)
Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf)
Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH)
Spastic Children's Association of Singapore (SCAS)
St. Andrew's Autism Centre (SAAC)
Asian Women's Welfare Association (AWWA)
The AWWA School runs an 'Early Intervention
Programme for Infants and Children' (EIPIC), from birth to 4 years and
a special educational 'Programme for Children with Multiple Handicaps'
(PCMH) between the ages of 4 to 12 years. Also, since 2001, the school
has catered for children with Autism and behavioural concerns under the
title 'Project Challenge'.
Association for Persons with Special Needs
(APSN)
There are four APSN schools in Singapore, which cater for children with
moderate learning difficulties 1, with IQ's between 50 and
70. Children between the ages of 6 and 12 can either attend Chao
Yang School, or Katong School 2.
Children between the ages of 13 and 16 can attend Tanglin
School and those between the ages of 17 and 19 can attend Delta
Senior School, which prepares the students for employment
through a range of pre-vocational training programmes.
Autism Resource Centre (ARC)
Pathlight School was opened in 2004
and caters for children between 6 and 16 who have an Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD). Pathlight School was the first school to offer
mainstream education for children with specific special educational
needs who have IQ's above 75. It caters for children cognitively able
to cope with the mainstream syllabus yet unable to cope socially and
emotionally in mainstream school. Students are provided with autism
friendly facilities, small class sizes and qualified teaching staff in
the field of autism.
Autism Association (Singapore) (AAS)
The AAS are the latest to open a special needs school in Singapore. The
Singapore Autism School opened in
2005. Similar to Pathlight School, SAS caters for children between 6
and 16 who are on the Autistic Spectrum.
Canossian Daughters of Charity (CDC)
The CDC operates a primary school known as the Canossian
School for the Hearing Impaired (CSHI). On reaching
Primary Six the pupils take the Primary School Leaving Exam (PSLE) and,
depending on their results, will either transfer to a mainstream school
catered for children with hearing impairment or to the 'Vocational
School for the Handicapped'. The 'Magdalene Kindergarten' is a feeder
school for pre-primary aged children with hearing impairment.
Metta Welfare Association (MWA)
The MWA runs the Metta School which caters for
children with mild to moderate learning difficulties, with I.Q.'s
between 55 and 75. The age range for the Metta School is 6 until 18
years old.
Movement for the Intellectually Disabled (MINDS)
There are five MINDS schools, which cater for children with moderate to
severe learning difficulties, with IQ's below 50. Children between the
ages of 4 and 18 can either attend Lee Kong Chian Gardens
School, Guillemard Gardens School,
Towner Gardens School, Woodlands
Gardens School or Yio Chu Kang Gardens School.
On leaving school, students have the opportunity to either attend one
of the two MINDS Day Activity Centres at Clementi or Ang Mo Kio, or
attend one of the three MINDS Employment Development Centres /
Sheltered Workshops.
Presbyterian Community Services (PCS)
Since 2002, the PCS has run the Grace Orchard School
(GOS) for children between the ages of 7 and 16 years, with mild
learning difficulties and IQ's from 55 to 70.
Rainbow Centre (RC)
The Rainbow Centre operates two schools, namely, Margaret
Drive Special School (MDSS) and Yishun Park
School. Both schools cater for children with Cerebral
Palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other
neurological conditions. The schools follow three programmes: 1) 'Early
Intervention for Infants and Children' under 4 years old; 2) 'Programme
for Children with Multiple Handicaps' between 4 and 16 years; and 3)
'Structured Teaching for Exceptional Pupils' (STEP), for children with
Autism up to the age of 12 years.
Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf)
The SADeaf runs a primary school known as the Singapore
School for the Deaf. On reaching the age of 14 the
students can transfer to the 'Vocational School for the Handicapped'
or, if able to pass the PSLE, can transfer to a designated mainstream
school as listed in footnote 3.
Singapore Association of the Visually
Handicapped (SAVH)
The SAVH operates a primary school known as the Singapore
School for the Visually Handicapped. The majority of
students follow the mainstream curriculum, although there is also a
remedial class for slow learners and a special class for children with
multiple disabilities. On passing the PSLE the students can transfer to
a mainstream school 4. The SAVH also runs a 'Vocational
Training Centre' which is for people with visual impairment aged 18 and
above.
Spastic Children's Association of Singapore
(SCAS)
The SCAS runs the Spastic Children's Association School
for children with cerebral palsy between the ages of 5 and 18 years.
The school curriculum is modified to meet the varying needs of each
student. Additionally, SCAS have recently set up a programme called the
'Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children‘ (EIPIC)
which caters for children, from 0 to 6 years old, with Cerebral Palsy,
other physical disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Vocational
training and employment is also available at the SCAS 'Goodwill
Rehabilitation and Occupational Workshop' (GROW).
St. Andrew's Autism Centre (SAAC)
St. Andrew's Autism School caters
for children with ASD from the ages of 7 to 18 years. It also runs a
Day Activity Centre for ages 16 to 55 years.
Privately Run / Foreign System Schools
In addition to the above, Genesis School is a special
school, commercially run, which caters to children with Autism Spectrum
Disorders, Communication Disorders, Attention Deficit Disorders and
Learning Difficulties, from the age of 3. Individual Educational
Programmes are provided for each child in addition to on-going
assessments and small class sizes.
Dover Court Preparatory School is an
International School, which runs mainstream, English as a Second
Language (ESL) and Special Educational Needs classes ranging from
primary to junior levels. The special needs department provides small
class sizes, qualified teaching staff, teaching assistants in each
class group and educational programmes catered to each individual
child. Opportunity to integrate with the mainstream classes is
practiced.
Furthermore, some International mainstream schools such
as the Australian International School, International School
of Singapore, Tanglin Trust School and the American
School is open to take children with mild special educational
needs. The latter school has full time speech therapists for both the
primary and secondary school's.
1 In Singapore 'Learning Difficulties' are often referred to
as 'Intellectual Disabilities' and the abbreviation 'ID' is often used
for persons who are 'intellectually disabled'.
2 Placement of a child into an
APSN or MINDS school or a Day Activity Centre is generally based on the
geographical positioning of their family's home.
3 Designated Secondary local
schools, which cater for children with hearing impairments, are 'Boon
Lay Secondary School' and 'Balestier Hill Secondary School'.
4 Designated Secondary local
schools, which cater for children with visual impairment, are 'Ahmad
Ibrahim Secondary School', 'Bedok South Secondary School', 'Dunearn
Secondary School' and 'Ghim Moh Secondary School'.
National Council of Social Services
(2003) Directory of Social Services, 8th Edition, NCSS, Singapore.
Ministry of Education, Singapore (2004) Special Education in Singapore.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/specialeducation/VWOs
2003.htm
The above information has been verified by telephone discussions with
many of the listed schools Social Workers or Administry Departments, in
addition to a personal interview with an Educational Psychologist from
the Ministry of Education.
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