Disability/Needs/Social Inclusion

Social Inclusion

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Sports

Need for accessible or inclusive sporting facilities

According to Sports Index 2015, only a third of PwDs participate in sports on a regular basis Sharing of public sporting facilities is often not tolerated or encouraged For example, most swimming clubs are not open to PwDs

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Disability Sports Master Plan Upgrading facilities and providing training to sport centre staff to make sports facilities more accessible to persons with disabilities and special needs. Setting up of five Centre of Expertise for Disability Sports in Sengkang, Delta, Queenstown, Toa Payoh and Jurong West  Inclusive gyms at EV, Tampines, Bedok, Toa Payoh, Jurong West Inclusive swimming pools at EV, Tampines, Bedok, Toa Payoh, Jurong West  Hosts disability sports programmes and facilities	There is improvement, but transport and participation costs remain a potential issue for PwD service users.	Extend VWO Transport Subsidies to Centres of Expertise for Disability Sports
Volunteer/Coach support Expansion of volunteer base for disability sports and opportunities for volunteers to take on the role of “sports buddies” to assist coaches and serve as training partners in the disability sports programmes. Play-Ability provides volunteers who show potential and interest in coaching with opportunities to further their skills through courses such as the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Introduction to Para Sports Coaching course. SportSG holds International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Introduction to Para Sports Coaching Programme to gain IPC certification for a career in coaching disability sports.	IPC certification sessions are sparse (previous one was in January 2018) IPC certification sessions are generally open to certified coaches. This means that the path to becoming a para-coach is one dimensional in that only coaches can become para-coaches while disability workers cannot become para-coaches.	Create training modules/curriculum for disability workers to pick up coaching skills and certification.

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Need for more higher-performing athletes with disabilities to receive equal treatment as compared to non-disabled athletes

Joseph Schooling received $1 million reward for winning a gold medal in the Rio Olympics but Yip Pin Xiu was only rewarded with $200,000 for her Paralympics gold medal All disabled athletes, regardless of sport, are represented by the Singapore Disability Sports Council (instead of their own sporting association).

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Spex Carding/Scholarship Four-tier scholarship that sees athletes receiving stipends ranging from S$24,000 to S$90,000, as well as additional support that includes training and competition costs, coaching fees, equipment, sports medicine and sports science. In 2019, included for high-level funding for the first time are six disabled athletes, including Paralympian Laurentia Tan. Fifteen-year-old gymnast Ashly Lau is the youngest recipient and disabled bowler Thomas Yong, 59, the oldest.

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Need for greater social participation/inclusion within the sports sector

PwDs are likely to have better quality of life if they are engaged in a social activity or sports NCSS Quality of Life Study found low PwD quality of life scores in recreation and leisure/social support

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Play Inclusive (by SportCares and ActiveSG) An annual sporting meet for students from both mainstream and special education schools where 450 participants from 38 different schools come together to compete in badminton, basketball, floorball, and football. Each team must comprise of students from special education and mainstream schools. Culmination of eight weeks of training.
Play-Ability Recreational sports programme for PwDs that allows them to enjoy sports in a fun and engaging social setting. Coaches and volunteer-facilitated sessions for PwDs to play sports
Society Staples Aims to connect PwDs with the wider community through fitness activities Hosts disability sports groups such as Deaf Dragons, a competitive dragon-boating team made completely of people with hearing disabilities.
Running Hour Sports co-operative that promotes integration of PwDs through running Organizes an annual Run for Inclusion, a race in Singapore where participants run alongside over 500 visually, intellectually, hearing, and physically-challenged runners.

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Arts

Need for artists with disabilities to experience equal treatment with artists without disabilities

Need for artists with disabilities to experience equal treatment with artists without disabilities. As in other aspects of life, artists with disabilities are not accorded the same opportunities or respect. Sometimes, the art of people with disabilities is not fully considered art, and has been instead defined as “outsider art”, compared to professional art or even considered as a kind of therapy. Audiences may also be unable to read the art work beyond its disability frame, even if artists with disabilities do not always focus on disability as a theme for their art.

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Arts and Disability Forums/Arts and Disability International Conference Annual forums meant to discuss inclusive art practices with emphasis on not segregating artists according to their disabilities and learning to understand each other Discussions including: Supporting creative exchanges between disabled and non-disabled persons was important to artistic creation, and how the collaborative process enabled artists to learn from each other. Defining concept of inclusivity in arts e.g sharing the same stages and platforms and not having separate events for the deaf or the disabled.	Lack of tangible output e.g set of actions that can be taken to rectify discussed problems.

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Need for accessibility towards art spaces and programs

Lack of sensory aids for PwDs in art spaces/events Many arts-makers do not consider the needs of the deaf-community audience and improvement is slow . Lack of accessibility to art venues

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Universally-designed Museums Museums such as the National Museum of Singapore and National Gallery Singapore are access friendly, with designated parking and accessible restrooms for visitors. Museums and heritage institutions in Singapore will be audited this year to ensure they are accessible for elderly and disabled users.
Disability-friendly tours of museums National Gallery Singapore offers Singapore Sign Language Interpretation tours. National Museum of Singapore, Asian Civilisations Museum and the Peranakan Museum have launched a ‘Quiet Mondays’ programme to encourage persons with disabilities to visit the museums on Monday mornings.
Concession for PwDs Persons with disabilities enjoy the lowest concession price for permanent and special exhibitions at all National Heritage Board (NHB) museums and heritage institutions as well as the Singapore Art Museum and National Gallery Singapore. An accompanying caregiver is also given complimentary entry.
Sign Language Interpretation Services Singapore Association for the Deaf offers interpretation services. Some theatre performances e.g Tribes by Pangdemonium, Mama White Snake by W!ld Rice feature sign language translators.	Highly complex and literary nature of artistic productions makes it difficult, time-consuming and costly (in terms of manpower) to prepare for play interpretations. Additionally, many local English productions provide neither subtitles nor interpreters.
Not in my Lifetime Theatre performance by The Finger Players that feature inclusive design choices for other forms of disability. Relaxed performances, touch tours and note-taking are used to promote accessibility.

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Need for greater social integration with the arts sector

EXISTING RESOURCES	GAPS AND THEIR CAUSES	POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Very Special Arts Charity organisation aiming to give PWDs opportunities to access the arts sector, empowering them to contribute to and integrate with the community. Hosts events such as APEX and VOICES, programs targeted at introducing PWDs to visual arts, performing arts and music
Superhero Me Ground-up inclusive arts movement that harnesses the power of creativity through the arts to empower children from less privileged backgrounds and special needs communities. Hosts events such as PEEKABOO!, an inclusive arts festival meant to bring children with and without special needs together.

According to a Lien Foundation survey in 2016, of the 835 parents of special needs children who were surveyed, four in 10 think their children spend too little time in the community outside of school.Nearly half of those surveyed said their children do not have friends without disabilities (ST 2 Oct 2017)

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Need for public to emphatically understand the circumstances PWDs face and know how to support and interact with them| |

Existing Resources

Society Staples

A social enterprise that uses mass engagement platforms to educate public about experiences of people with disabilities; provides team building services for corporates: eg experiencing blindness, learning sign language etc.

https://www.societystaples.com.sg

Purple Parade

http://www.purpleparade.sg/

See the True Me

http://seethetrueme.sg/

Buddy'IN, a programme aimed at socially integrating graduating students from special education schools with their peers from institutes of higher learning, through semi-structured social activities and sessions.(ST 17 Jun 2016)

December 3rd, 2017, the International Day of People with Disabilities -AbleThrive is hosting meetups around the world for people with disabilities, their families and allies to come together

Lien Centre for Social Innovation Workshop on Inclusion - Allyship 101

https://lcsi.smu.edu.sg/programmes/changelab/allyship-101

Gaps and Their Causes

For 'See the True Me' there is a question about the reach of these campaigns because many at a forum, many from disability sector have not seen or heard about it

Invisible disabilities (learning disorders, hearing impairment) are less obvious, and therefore the public may not understand their behaviors and support may be less forthcoming (ST 28 May 2016)

Mr Andrew Soh, assistant director at Down Syndrome Association, said public attitudes are less favourable towards people with autism and intellectual impairments, compared with those with physical disabilities, because people fear what they cannot see. "People can't tell how serious their disability is and don't know what to say or how to help them," he said.(ST 3 Jun 2016)

Possible Solutions

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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION| |

MIND’s keyword signing as total communication

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Need for mobility and access to transportation| |

Existing Resources Transportation subsidies:

Taxi Subsidy Scheme

VWO subsidy scheme

Public Transport Concession Scheme for Persons with Disabilities

Assistive devices for drivers with disabilities (ST 24 Oct 2016)

Accessible public transportation:

UberAssist Channel News Asia report

Wheelchair accessible taxis see taxisingapore.com and LTA accessibility push

Wheelchair Accessible Buses (About 80% of buses are wheelchair accessible, and LTA aims for 100% coverage by 2020).

Disabled facilities at MRT stations and in trains (More than 80% of MRT stations have at least two barrier free access routes).

Accommodation for drivers with disabilities:

Car Park Label Scheme for Persons with Physical Disabilities

SPD provides training for Tower Transit bus drivers how to help commuters with disabilities (ST 28 Apr 2016)

Gaps and Their Causes

Transportation costs, while subsidised, are still high for lower income PWDs

Cheaper transport options such as buses and trains are either too crowded for wheelchair users or other persons with disabilities OR there are service issues, such as some unprofessional or even discriminatory drivers or passengers.

Open prams used by caregivers now allowed on public buses, but not all bus drivers realise this yet (ST 2 Oct 2016)

Possible Solutions

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Need for access to digital media| |

Existing Resources

Gaps and Their Causes

Potential Solutions

-Web Accessibility Guidelines https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/

-Accessibility reviews of the web https://www.abilitynet.org.uk/

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Need for access to leisure and recreational activities| |

Existing Resources

ActiveSG is promoting disability sports. Various sports have been adapted for them. In Singapore, the range of sports for people with disabilities includes handcyling, swimming, table tennis and boccia, a ball game that can be played by wheelchair-users with motor-skill impairment (ST 27 Sep 2016)

The inclusive playgrounds in Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park and Ghim Moh and the complementary Children in Action programme (ST 17 Jun 2016)

Running Hour A sports co-operative that promotes integration of persons with special needs through running. We have members who are mildly intellectually challenged, physically challenged and visually challenged joining us to keep fit. We welcome anyone passionate about running to join us as running guides.

"Inclusive" art workshop to encourage interaction between children with and without special needs. Run by Superhero Me, a non-governmental organisation that runs art programmes for children (ST 2 Oct 2017).

Free entry for people with disabilities and caregivers to (special exhibitions of) NHB museums (ST 15 April 2018 “Free entry for people with disabilities”)

Gaps and Their Causes

Sports take-up rate among people with disabilities remains low, though they stand to benefit more than able-bodied people by being active(ST 27 Sep 2016)

Reasons why people with disabilities may shun sports:(ST 27 Sep 2016) •Difficulty in getting transport to the sports facilities. •Cost of specialised equipment and transporting them. •Struggles with the basics of daily life that push the thought of exercise into the background. •Depending on volunteers to help out, such as transferring the person with disability from a normal wheelchair to a racing wheelchair. •A tendency to withdraw from society and an unwillingness to leave the house for various reasons. •Logistics. For instance, when a wheelchair racer travels overseas for races, he has to take along a special racing wheelchair, a regular wheelchair for moving around and a commode chair. •There may also be psychological factors such as confidence, self image issues and a self-perceived inability to do sports.

Lack of opportunities to prove themselves ;being overprotective could limit their exposure, hindering their ability to lead a fulfilling and independent life (CNA 21 Sep 2017)

Possible Solutions

There should be regular disability sports sessions in all special education schools and organisations for the disabled (ST 27 Sep 2016)

Collectively refrain from assuming what PWDs can or cannot do, never mind their condition. (CNA 21 Sep 2017)

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Need opportunities to give back to society| |

Existing Resources SPD Youth Development Programme - Trained and mentored youths with disabilities to enable them to champion social causes and give back to the society.

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Disability Conferences| |

CONFERENCE	LOCATION	REMARKS
Having a Say Conference	Geelong, Australia	Organised by and for people with intellectual disabilities. While the programme isn’t jam packed with information, it’s definitely interesting to learn more about how people with ID raise issues of concerns, and really take part in setting the agenda. Seems fairly prominent within Australia, but not much international reach. Down Syndrome Association brought some of its advocates there last year to share their advocacy programme
Zero Project	Vienna, Austria	Packed chock-a-block with presentations, sharings, and booths. The theme changes year to year. 2018 was on Accessibility and saw representatives from a whole host of countries sharing more about accessibility (challenges of accessibility). Most interesting were the South American presentations that pretty much shared about how people took issues into their own hands and made spaces in their cities more accessible. The conference is accompanied by innovation booths that feature innovations from all over the world (e.g., a group of people in India who set up a form of landline service for people with disabilities to post and apply for jobs). Really cool stuff. 2019’s theme is on Political Participation.
Global Disability Summit	London, UK (2018)	Organised by International Disability Alliance. Seems to be the place to meet the who's who in the disability sector globally.
Inclusion International World Congress	Birmingham, UK (2018)
Harkin Summit	Washington DC, USA (2018)	2018 - Rather US-centric. But great information on employment and employability practices by large organisations.
ASEAN Disability Forums	Thailand (2019)	Moves around the ASEAN region depending on who the Chairman is.