Difference between revisions of "Disability/Early Intervention"

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|'''Diagnostic Touchpoints (e.g., hospitals)'''
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* Psychologists from the Ministry of Education
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* Professionals from government hospitals
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* Registered educational psychologists (for psycho-educational assessment)
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* Private psychologists
 
|[Knowledge gap: Any issues with accuracy, cost, accessibility, or quality of diagnoses?]
 
|[Knowledge gap: Any issues with accuracy, cost, accessibility, or quality of diagnoses?]
  

Revision as of 11:20, 5 April 2020

To change anything in this page, feel free to contribute directly or to propose revisions and amendments in the Discussion page. Use [square brackets] for anecdotes, comments or to raise questions.

Overview & Synopsis

Knowledge Gaps

Current information mainly focused centered on intellectual disability and autism; do other disabilities face similar issues with detection and early intervention? Eg hearing loss or other forms of sensory disabilities.

Policy Advocacy

Actionable Areas

Key Statistics & Figures

7,000 children aged 6 and below have developmental difficulties as of 2015 [1]

Between 2010 and 2014, KKH and NUS screenings show a 76% increase in children 6 and below with developmental issues such as development delays, speech and language delays, learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorders (ASD)[2]

Theory of Change

Diagnostic Touchpoints & Referals Detection, Diagnosis & Referrals
EIPIC programmes Early Intervention
Education

Areas of Needs

Detection, Diagnosis & Referral

Timely Detection, Accurate Diagnosis & Proper Referrals to Follow-Up Services

Programmes Gaps Ideas
Detection

This is usually a problem only for less visible disabilities.

[Knowledge gap: Where are the places or touchpoints that might detect disabilities

[Knowledge gap: Are early childhood educators equipped to identify clients for diagnosis?]

[Anecdote: Some people don't get diagnosed until much later in life, especially less visible disabilities like dyslexia]

Diagnostic Touchpoints
  • Psychologists from the Ministry of Education
  • Professionals from government hospitals
  • Registered educational psychologists (for psycho-educational assessment)
  • Private psychologists
[Knowledge gap: Any issues with accuracy, cost, accessibility, or quality of diagnoses?]
Referrals For caregivers of children with ASD, touchpoints are poorly equipped in advising parents on where to obtain reliable help during the post-diagnostic phase (see page 61 here)
  • Improve transition management (Recommendation 3, Strategic Direction 1 of EM3) [3]
    • For newly-diagnosed cases, to set up an agency to provide case referral, care planning and advisory services, and to facilitate smooth handover of information to other agencies
    • Includes developing a standardised case management tool between primary support agency and other service providers
  • Enhance network of touchpoints to ensure timely and effective detection of developmental needs (Recommendation 4, Strategic Direction 4: of EM3)
    • To make information and training more available to touchpoints (e.g., family, hospitals, polyclinics, family medicine practitioners, community partners) such as using electronic platforms, training primary care practitioners

Early Intervention

  • Synopsis: While EIPIC serves around 3,200 children with mod-severe special needs, waitlists can extend from 6 months to 1 year. Further, early intervention professionals tend to have high turnover and quick burnout, due to unattractive remuneration compared to the private sector.
Programmes Gaps Ideas
For mild developmental needs

Development Support (DS) & Learning Support (LS)

[Knowledge gap: number of such children]
For moderate to severe developmental delays

Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC)

  • EIPIC Centres have long waiting lists (up to six months[4] or a year[5])
  • Early Intervention Professionals face quick burnout, unattractive salaries/benefits relative to the private sector and shortage of manpower[6][7]
  • Long waiting lists at EIPIC Centres - (1) If disproportionately high at certain EIPIC Centres, to educate and counsel parents on their choice of centre or (2) scale up vacancies
Therapy

Community Educational Support Services

Development Support (DS) & Learning Support (LS)

  • For pre-school children with mild developmental needs [total number of such children?]
  • Support and intervention in areas such as speech and language, social skills, motor skills, behaviour and literacy
  • Rolled out to > 300 preschools, > 2,000 children and families, caa December 2015[8]
  • [outcomes information on how DS/LS has fared?]

Early Intervention Programme for Infants & Children (EIPIC)

  • Therapy and educational support services for children below 6 years with special needs at risk of moderate to severe developmental delays [total number of such children?]
  • 21 EIPIC Centres, caa July 2018[9]
  • Currently serving about 2,600 children[10], projected to grow to 3,200 places by 2018[11][12]
  • Enhanced Pilot for Private Intervention Providers to subsidise selected Private Intervention Centres
  • SPD - Building Bridges @ EIPIC Centres are at Tiong Bahru, Jurong, Tampines & Bedok served a total of 465 children in FY16/17[13] - 41 graduated, 27 progressing to mainstream primary and the rest to SPED

Community Educational Support Services

  1. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/big-read-special-needs-children-pre-school-not-given-0
  2. https://www.msf.gov.sg/policies/International-Conventions/Documents/Singapore%20CRPD%20Report%20-%20final.pdf
  3. https://www.msf.gov.sg/policies/Disabilities-and-Special-Needs/Documents/Enabling%20Masterplan%203%20(revised%2013%20Jan%202017).pdf
  4. National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). (2017). Issues faced by people with disabilities in Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.nvpc.org.sg/resources/report-on-issues-faced-by-people-with-disabilities-in-singapore
  5. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/big-read-special-needs-children-pre-school-not-given-0
  6. Lien Foundation Study on Early Intervention Professionals. http://www.lienfoundation.org/sites/default/files/LF%20Early%20Intervention%20Survey%20Findings.pdf
  7. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/survey-unveils-challenges-faced-by-professionals-working-alongside-special-needs-children
  8. https://www.msf.gov.sg/policies/International-Conventions/Documents/Singapore%20CRPD%20Report%20-%20final.pdf
  9. https://www.sgenable.sg/uploads/EIPIC%20Service%20Matrix.pdf
  10. http://lienfoundation.org/sites/default/files/Inclusive%20Survey%20Part%202%20-%20Press%20Release%20Lien%20Fdn%20Final%5B1%5D.pdf
  11. https://www.msf.gov.sg/policies/International-Conventions/Documents/Singapore%20CRPD%20Report%20-%20final.pdf
  12. https://www.msf.gov.sg/media-room/Pages/Clarifications-on-EIPIC.aspx
  13. http://www.spd.org.sg/upload/SPD%20FY1617%20Annual%20Report.pdf