What kind of programmes do you conduct at your Day Activity Centre?
Our programmes cover activities of daily living (e.g. personal hygiene, feeding), community living skills (cooking, cleaning, taking public transport), social & recreational activities (behaviour management, art & craft, games & exercises) and pre-vocational skills (packing, task persistence). In addition to these, there are celebration events and outings. Some clients are given physiotherapy on a regular basis as required.

What language will be used during the session?
We normally use English when communicating to our clients as a group. However, explanations in Mandarin or dialect/s are given to individual clients who do not understand English. For clients who cannot communicate verbally, non-verbal communication such as picture exchange or gestures are taught and used.

Is there any hope of our child/ward improving?
With appropriate intervention in a structured environment, coupled with loving care and patience, our clients would generally improve over time. However, improvements may be noticeable only after a substantial period of time, so we need to keep on persevering in helping our clients improve. Often, we would discuss with the respective caregivers the specific areas where they hope to see improvements, and implement appropriate programmes accordingly. Some intervention programmes require the support of parents/caregivers in the home/community setting so that their child/ward can experience improvements.

How many clients are there in a class?
There are 6 to 15 clients in a class. For the bigger classes, the clients are divided into smaller groups so that one teacher is looking after 3 to 5 clients. For the smaller classes (autism/multiple disabilities), one teacher is looking after 2 to 3 clients.

Are the teachers trained?
Some of our teachers are trained in special education, for example the Diploma in Special Education (DISE) conducted by NIE, NTU. For the other teachers, we have an in-house training programme to equip them with the necessary skills and know-how to handle individuals with disabilities. We also send our teachers to other relevant courses/workshops. Many of them joined, and subsequently stay with us because they have compassion for these special people. This compassion, coupled with the in-house training programme enabled them to come out with creative programmes and activities for our clients.

Will my child/ward have problems relating with the rest?
One of the characteristics of individuals with autism is that they do not have the social skills to relate with others appropriately. Similarly, some individuals with disabilities also have difficulty relating to others. So we try to teach our clients simple social interaction skills. What is more important is the tendency of individuals with disabilities to bond with another individual with disabilities. Such bonds are clearly noticeable amongst our clients’ natural buddy groupings, and with their respective teachers. Once your child/ward overcomes the initial difficulty, they will look forward to coming to the centre to meet their friends and teachers.

Is there any medical help for the clients?
No, we do not provide medical help for our clients. However, we provide physiotherapy for some clients and first aid for minor injuries. Caregivers need to seek appropriate medical treatment for their child/ward. We will ensure that our clients take their prescribed medication(s) according to the instructions of their respective caregivers. We will also keep clients off whatever food they may be allergic to.

Can COH recommend where I can take my child/ward for medical treatment?
In those cases where we know of effective and proven treatments, we will inform the caregivers of our clients accordingly. However, there are many types of disabilities where COH does not know of any proven medical treatments, thus unable to make any recommendations.