Tag: special needs

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Kampong Glam CNY Festive cheers Distribution

Kampong Glam CNY Festive cheers Distribution (3 Feb 2024)

A week before Chinese New Year on 3 Feb 2024, CaringSG distributed CNY goodie bags to special needs caregivers and families. The event aimed to bring some festive joy and support to these caregivers during the Chinese New Year celebrations. It was also a way to appreciate and thank them for their dedication and efforts in their caregiving journey over the past year.

A total of 61 families benefitted from the event, which was supported by 23 CAREkakis from the Kampong Glam Constituency, 10 CaringSG staff and Board members, as well as 6 CAREchampions.

It was indeed a great joy and privilege to work with the grassroots and community to share the bliss and joy with these caregivers during this festive season! 

To be updated on CaringSG’s latest events and join your preferred caregiver support groups in our CaringSG Alliance Network (CAN), sign up as a CaringSG member and let us know your preference!

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Tea Time at Ya Kun – Appreciation Campaign for Special Needs Caregivers and Families

Tea Time at Ya Kun – Appreciation Campaign for Special Needs Caregivers and Families

CaringSG and Ya Kun Kaya Toast collaborated to run an appreciation campaign for special needs caregivers and families.

Ya Kun encouraged their customers to fuel a caregiver of a person with special needs and show their appreciation by gifting them a cup of Ya Kun kopi or tea. Customers could participate in this initiative via Ya Kun’s Cherish app from 10 Oct to 30 Nov 2022.

Ya Kun also helped to spread awareness of what CaringSG does, by sharing with their customers that CaringSG is a caregiver-led initiative and registered non-profit organisation for special needs caregivers and the community. We were set up in 2020 and are supported by SG Enable.

Customers were further informed to visit www.caring.sg to learn more about how they can support special needs caregivers, and to check out www.enablingguide.sg if they are a person with disability or caregiver in need of support.

 

Tea Time at Ya Kun @ Far East Square

As part of the appreciation campaign, caregivers were treated to a traditional tea brunch of Kaya toast with butter set (Set A) at Ya Kun @ Far East Square on 12 November 2022. The meals and venue were kindly sponsored by Ya Kun Kaya Toast.

A total of 16 caregivers and 15 children turned up for the event, and participants could also take the opportunity to share their life experiences with other caregivers and their families. The children were engaged with simple board games, jigsaw puzzles and activities while enjoying their meals in Ya Kun’s flagship store that offered a rustic ambience reminiscing the good old days of kampung gatherings.

The event was supported by two CAREkakis, two CAREambassadors, four CaringSG staff and volunteers.  

We sincerely thank our kind sponsor Ya Kun Kaya Toast and all the Ya Kun customers who participated in this appreciation campaign with a kopi or tea treat to special needs caregivers.

This caregiver appreciation event was also supported by our partners (Enabling Lives Grant Initiative by SG Enable and Tote Board, Temasek Foundation and Boon Lay CCC).

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CaringSG’s First Ever Purple Parade!

CaringSG’s First Ever Purple Parade!

This year’s Purple Parade was held on 29 October 2022 at Suntec City to support inclusion and celebrate the abilities of persons with disabilities. 2022 marks the 10th anniversary for the Purple Parade, and the first time that CaringSG has participated in this event!

In the lead up to the Purple Parade, CaringSG held an online slogan quest for our members with two categories:

  • Category 1: non-caregiver members can create their own short slogans to encourage caregivers
  • Category 2: caregiver members can share their self-declared phrase that has always inspired them to remain motivated despite their challenges.

The contest ran until 30 November 2022. Scroll to the bottom of this article to see the winning slogans!

On the actual day of the Purple Parade, CaringSG members who dropped by the CaringSG booth and flashed their eCard were able to redeem limited edition free gifts (tote bag for caregiver members and a CaringSG badge for non-caregiver members). 

Members as well as the public could also purchase specially made handicrafts to support the caregivers and youths of CAREcottage families (see their beautiful handicrafts here).

The highlight of the Purple Parade was the marching of contingents where participants marched together to show solidarity for persons with disabilities. CaringSG, together with Centre for Fathering, formed a strong marching contingent of 88 participants. Everyone was really happy and proud to be part of this meaningful event.

The Purple Parade was supported by five CAREkakis, nine CaringSG staff and twenty-two volunteers. A loud shoutout and thank you to our partners (Enabling Lives Initiative Grant by SG Enable and Tote Board, and Temasek Foundation) who made this meaningful event possible. 

Congratulations to the following winners of our slogan quest!

We are greatly inspired by each and every one of your slogans and would like to announce the winners below:

  • CaringSG Online Slogan Quest Winner (Category 1): “All trials have an expiry date!” by Ms Tay 
  • CaringSG Online Slogan Quest Winner (Category 2): “You make a world of difference!” by Low Li Ting

We also hope these notable slogan submissions will bring warmth to your day:

  • “Together, We Can!” by Amir Yunus
  • “Laugh more, open your heart, and take each day as it comes” by Ernest
  • “Don’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the further you get.” by Lim Sook Wei
  • “There is always light at every tunnel ahead.” by Ng Tiong Hui
  • “Appreciate progress, no matter how small!!” by Poornima Rajaram
  • “Care and Compassion in Community makes us stronger” by Timothy Wong
  • “Mom is the best teacher for your own son! Love yourself, family first before you can love others” by Vivien Tanaka
  • “Open our heart to listen, to act.” by Wong KK
  • “Be brave, be persistent, be fun. Never give up! Yes, you can!” by Yuria Tantono

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Respite + Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration on 10 Sep 2022

Respite + Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration on 10 Sep 2022

The Mid-Autumn festival is celebrated on the 15th of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar every year. This year, the festival took place on 10 September 2022. 

In order to provide some respite for caregivers, CaringSG organised our Respite + Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration at Boon Lay CC where caregivers and their family members could get to participate in traditional fun-filled activities like lantern making, solving mid-autumn festival riddles, and a pomelo peeling competition.

Before the activities started, caregivers and their families were treated to a short massage session by the masseuses from the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) so that they would all be refreshed to take part in the activities.

During the event, families could also take photos at the photo booth to showcase the lanterns that their children had made.

Respite + Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration was supported by two CAREkakis, one CAREchampion, two CAREambassadors, and four CaringSG staff and volunteers.

A special shoutout and thank you to our partners (Enabling Lives Initiative Grant by SG Enable and Tote Board, Temasek Foundation and Boon Lay CCC) who made this memorable event possible. 

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Care4caregivers – Family bonding through sports

Care4caregivers – Family bonding through sports

CaringSG and co-organiser William Blair organised Care4caregivers, a sporting event for caregivers and their families on 8 Oct 2022. It was a good opportunity for caregivers with special needs family members to take a short break and bond with their loved ones through sports.

Held at the Hockey Village at Boon Lay Multi-Purpose pitch, the itinerary consisted of a mass warm up followed by simple workouts where everyone could participate easily, such as jumping jacks, arm circles and karate punches.

Breaks were scheduled in between physical activities to ensure that all participants, especially the kids, were well hydrated and rested sufficiently before proceeding to the next activities. The afternoon ended off with an entertaining “Dance & freeze” and “Pass the ball” activities.

Care4caregivers was supported by four CAREkakis, one CAREchampion, eight CAREambassadors, and four CaringSG staff and volunteers.

A special shoutout and thank you to our co-organiser William Blair who made this event possible.  This event was also supported by the Enabling Lives Initiative Grant by SG Enable and Tote Board, the Temasek Foundation, Boon Lay CCC and ActiveSG.

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Building Relationships, Supporting Caregivers – By CAREwell volunteer Loy Sheau Mei

Building Relationships, Supporting Caregivers – By CAREwell volunteer Loy Sheau Mei

I’m Loy Sheau Mei, a CAREwell volunteer. Before I joined CAREwell, I’ve already been working with the autism community for the past 18 years.

Some time ago, when I was doing a home visit with my colleagues to support a family with 2 kids who were visually impaired and diagnosed with autism, I learnt more about CAREwell and CaringSG.

I also found out more about the CAREwell’s volunteering opportunities via social media and decided to join.

What is volunteering with CAREwell like?

When I started volunteering with CAREwell, I liked how CaringSG has a structure in place with clarity of the end-in-mind for the families they serve.

The CAREwell team uses a multi-disciplinary approach as we need to have inputs from different perspectives to support each family holistically.

Collaboration with family is one key aspect, and the CAREwell team starts small to gain trust from the family. We also have a commitment to be present to work with the family within a specific timeframe. This creates stability in our relationships with the caregivers, and caregivers will be more open and willing to follow up.

With the relationship built and little successes along the way, I have witnessed that the caregivers are more relaxed as they start to realise that there’re others like us who will walk the journey with them.

 

How can society be more understanding towards special needs caregivers?

I believe that the awareness is there, but on how to progress forward to be an inclusive society, much effort will be needed.

There are many myths about special needs and there is a need to present the facts about different special needs as there are so many differently-abled individuals among us. The misconception of special needs, and how to interact with them, at times leads to misunderstandings.

Post-school options are limited, and many caregivers are worried as to what’s next for their dependents. “Finding the what’s next” requires all stakeholders, including caregivers and respective agencies, to co-create this space.

Lastly, I would like to share this encouragement to all special needs caregivers:

                                                                                                                            Source: Quotefancy

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It Takes a Village to Raise a Child – By Board Advisor Ms Denise Phua

It Takes a Village to Raise a Child – By Board Advisor Ms Denise Phua

It takes a village to raise a child. This is even more true for children with special needs or disabilities. That village includes their families and the rest of society.

CaringSG seeks to build an inclusive Singapore through connecting, enabling and empowering the caregivers who often are the main supporters of their beloved special children. It adopts a unique and structured approach to reach out and tap on partners from the larger community of professional and grassroots volunteers and fellow caregivers.

CaringSG’s mission is worthy. I urge you to be an active contributor of your time, funds and other support in honour of this cause.

Alone, one can do so little. Together, we can achieve much more. Only then, will Singapore grow from strength to strength.

To be updated on CaringSG’s latest events and join your preferred caregiver support groups in our CaringSG Alliance Network (CAN), sign up as a CaringSG member and let us know your preference!

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Pesta Ria – An Afternoon Filled with Fun for Caregivers!

Pesta Ria – An Afternoon Filled with Fun for Caregivers!

On 18 June 2022, CaringSG and co-organiser MIJ Hub organised Pesta Ria, a fun-filled event for 30 participants from 13 special needs families.

Mdm Rahayu Mahzam (Guest-of-Honour and CaringSG Board Advisor) and Dr David Ang (CaringSG Board Co-Chair) chatting with a participant

Taking place at Enabling Village, UOB Ability Hub, participants heard from speakers such as Mdm Rahayu Mahzam (Guest-of-Honour and CaringSG Board Advisor), Ms Faraliza Zainal (Founder of MIJ Hub), Dr David Ang (CaringSG Board Co-Chair) and Ms Florence Lee (CaringSG Head of Programs).

Ms Faraliza Zainal welcoming caregivers and families to Pesta Ria organised by CaringSG and MIJ Hub
Mdm Rahayu Mahzam addressing caregivers and families at Pesta Ria
Dr David Ang (CaringSG Board Co-Chair) speaking to caregivers
Ms Florence Lee (CaringSG Head of Programs) sharing about caregiver issues and gaps

An energetic Zumba session conducted by instructor Siti Zhywee Binte Ramle had caregivers and their dependents dancing to the beat with smiles all around.

After photo-taking to remember the event by, participants were treated to tea refreshments and a lucky draw! Pesta Ria was supported by one CAREchampion, three CAREambassadors, and four CaringSG staff and volunteers. Special thanks to our co-organiser MIJ Hub. This event was also supported by the Enabling Lives Initiative Grant by SG Enable and Tote Board, and the Temasek Foundation.

“While it takes a village to raise a child, a community of families form a village which caregivers can support and encourage one another in the caregiving journey. Coming together like this to spend an afternoon is a great example to do that! Keep it up MIJ & CaringSG!” – Dr David Ang.

Staff and volunteers from CaringSG and MIJ Hub
From left: Dr David Ang (CaringSG Board Co-Chair), Ms Rahayu Mahzam (CaringSG Board Advisor and Guest-of-Honour), and Ms Faraliza Zainal (Founder of MIJ Hub)

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Parents Are The Best Advocates – By CAREbuddy Debanjana Bhaumik

Parents Are The Best Advocates – By CAREbuddy Debanjana Bhaumik

This article was contributed by CAREbuddy Debanjana Bhaumik.

Featured photo: Debanjana, her husband, Som, and their 7-year-old girl, Sahana.

 

Both Som and I were working in Oil & Gas sector in Singapore when we relocated to Houston, Texas, USA in 2013. Sahana was born there in 2015. Sahana was diagnosed with autism in 2018 at Texas Children’s Autism Center. Our family moved back to Singapore in 2020. 

 

The early years as special needs caregivers

We had noticed that Sahana was not talking at the age of 2 years old. We brought up our concerns to her pediatrician in Houston. He advised us to wait and watch for 6 months (as kids in bilingual families may delay in picking up speech). Eventually he sent us for evaluation. We had already started speech therapy (ST) and occupational therapy (OT) while waiting for evaluation (12 months wait time). 

Finally, after the evaluation in 2018, Sahana was diagnosed with autism. She was prescribed full time ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy. We were shocked and saddened by the diagnosis.

In order to double confirm the diagnosis, we also got her evaluated at NUH Child Development Unit (CDU) in 2018 but unfortunately the results were the same. Our pediatrician at NUH CDU suggested to us to stay back in Houston and get the ABA therapy done. Once completed, we could plan to come back to Singapore and enroll Sahana in Pathlight school. 

Hence started Sahana’s journey with ABA therapy in 2019. It was not an easy one, especially considering the cost, resources, time, work/life balance factors for both Som and me. I am very grateful to my parents for their continual support during these difficult times as they made multiple trips all the way to Houston in order to help out with Sahana. It was a huge learning curve for us. Within 3 months we saw awesome improvements in Sahana. On completion of her ABA therapy, we planned our move back to Singapore in 2020. Again, it was not an easy decision for us. Both of us quit our jobs and moved back to Singapore at the start of the pandemic. 

 

Joining a parent support group

Just as we returned back to Singapore in 2020, the Covid-19 wave hit leading to lockdown. There were delays in getting a preschool and EIPIC services for Sahana. At this time, I was looking for parent support groups for special needs (SN) children. I came to know about CaringSG from Edward Chan in the CASPER support group. I also came to know about various parent to parent support groups on Facebook, WhatsApp etc. These groups provided a wealth of information that we needed at that time. 

Photo: Debanjana, Som, and Sahana celebrating Sahana’s 7th birthday.

 

Once Sahana got admission to Pathlight school, I thought it would be good to share our experience with other parents going through the same journey. When I came to know about CaringSG’s CAREbuddy program, I thought it would be an ideal avenue to give back to community. 

After joining and completing the CAREbuddy training, I came to know about a lot of local resources which will be helpful to parents of SN kids while waiting for intervention and or school services. It was a very in-depth training covering a wide range of topics to help you listen with empathy and to empower your caregivers to make the best decision for their family. 

Working as a CAREbuddy intern has been pretty exciting. I am so glad to be able to share Sahana’s journey with other parents. Hope they find something useful from it. At the same time, I have learnt a lot from my caregivers. 

I would definitely urge the caregivers of SN kids to join this CAREbuddy program if they can spare the time. Making new connections and putting yourself out there can be a little daunting in the beginning, but with time, it will be fulfilling journey. 

 

Encouraging fellow special needs caregivers

I am a strong advocate of early intervention. I have seen it in case of my own child how early ABA therapy became the turning point in her intervention journey.

I understand that getting the evaluation report/ diagnosis of special needs can be very heartbreaking for the parents. The societal stigma associated with special needs also makes it quite scary. I will encourage the parents to look beyond this and concentrate on finding intervention for your kids.

Don’t be shy to ask for help from family, friends, professionals, doctors, teachers etc. Do your own research and be willing to learn. Waiting for kids to grow up and think that they will learn by themselves could be too late. Don’t miss the opportunity of early intervention.

Finally, these words taught to us during Sahana’s ABA therapy have always stayed with me, “Parents are the best advocates for their own kids.”

About CAREbuddy

CAREbuddy is one of CaringSG’s Project 3i programmes where trained special needs caregivers (CAREbuddies) provide emotional support to fellow special needs caregivers.

Trainees go through a total of 24 hours of training, followed by 6 months of internship upon graduation. During internship, CAREbuddy interns begin to support fellow caregivers, and our trainers will mentor them as well.

Please join our FB page to receive more updates on how to sign up, and read more about CAREbuddy at https://caring.sg/carebuddy/ 

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Be Part Of Our Collective Dream – By Board Advisor Ms Rahayu Mahzam

Be Part Of Our Collective Dream – By Board Advisor Ms Rahayu Mahzam

Many special needs caregivers start off their journey feeling lost and lonely. They may not know who to turn to, what to do, and whether they can survive the road ahead.

Some have managed to find their own solutions, join a support group, gather resources, and thrive against the circumstances.

The founding of CaringSG is but one milestone in caregivers’ collective journey towards a better future for themselves and their families, and the push towards a more inclusive Singapore.

When caregivers unite, when communities grow, beautiful things happen.

Join us at CaringSG to be part of our collective dream – to connect, enable and empower fellow special needs caregivers, build an inclusive community for special needs families, and transform innovative caregiving solutions into impactful reality.

To be updated on CaringSG’s latest events and join your preferred caregiver support groups in our CaringSG Alliance Network (CAN), sign up as a CaringSG member and let us know your preference!

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