Reflections of our Advocates:
The teachers there also shared with us the story of a child with autism who was bullied in a main stream school and had to transfer to the centre. The child was not able to speak to others for a whole year and a half. This short story really touched me, and showed me how discrimination against a child or person with autism can be a more detrimentally affect their lives than the autism itself. We have to give them our support to encourage them to live a fulfilling life just like any of us.
I feel really sympathetic for the children with autism. They are just like us, but because they lack the basic skills to communicate they do not have the ability to live a normal life. I sincerely hope that more people would love them and accept them, that they can lead a happy and meaningful life. When we build them up, with our hearts and love, they will transform us as well.
-Yu Jun
Today we had our learning journey to Saint Andrews Autism centre and we had the chance to see what a school for autistic children was like and I’m sure it was an enriching experience for every single one of us. Even though these children and adults are autistic, live in their own world and have problems with social interactions, they are still human beings like you and I and we have to learn how to understand them more and be more accepting towards them. At first I was a bit apprehensive because I didn’t know what to expect from this trip, and even when we first saw the children, I was taken aback by some of their bizarre behaviours. It was new and strange to me, but I realised that those actions were their ways to express themselves where words could not.
We did not interact with the children much because they would be overwhelmed by seeing such a big group of us. The tour around the school made it clear that much effort and design was put into constructing the buildings and rooms, which are very different from mainstream schools and are all tailored to meet the needs of the children and adults with autism. It was very interesting and eye-opening. Hearing from the teachers and staff, managing the children’s behaviour is one of the greatest challenges they face. Each child is very unique and has their own routines and habits, and emotional meltdowns of the children occur on a daily basis. Communication is the key to understanding these children.
Overall I felt that I now better understand what autism is about and the difficulties that people with autism face in their lives. “Understanding before Advocating” is very important and we should seek to understand them, to see the person first and autism second, before we can be their voice in advocating their cause. The people at the centre inspire me to try to reach out to more people in the community with their patience, tolerance, love and care towards the children and adults. I definitely hope that we can go back and get to interact more with the children! :D
-Rosabel
Interviewee: Ms Michelle, External coordinator of St. Andrew’s Autism Centre
Challenges you face:
I think much more than the challenges we face here is the challenge parents face concerning their child’s life issues. Some major concerns like what would happen to their child with autism when they grow old? The parents may ask: do I leave everything to my child? My child may not be able to use the money, who’s going to take care of my child? If my child is not an only child, should I load the responsibility on my other child? I have heard stories from parents of how their daughter or son is very careful in considering a partner for life, because they are keenly aware that they have to support his/her sibling with autism for life. So he/ she may not be willing to start a family. These are very real issues although they may not talk about it.
That’s why there are also sibling care and parent networks to support them and help them in these areas of need, because as non-profit charities, we are here to serve the community where they are in need.
Needs for St Andrew’s autism centre?
One of the needs now is fund raising. The school is pretty well supported, with support from MOE and NCSS, but the adult services have very little government funding, and we sometimes have to write to foundations to get funding. The cost to support each adult client in the centre is about S$2004, very high. They all pay according to the means testing fees, the lower paying ones under the FAS paying around $25, and generally S$100-S$1500 for the regular clients. The adult services really need more help. We need to raise about 1million to support them.
Do you have any needs for volunteers?
For major events we always need volunteers. For camps especially, even though it is mainly the staff that coordinate the activities, we need a lot of volunteers to help in planning the camp, organizing events, as well as managing the logistics like catering. It would really help take the load off the teachers as it is very tedious for one teacher to support one child and also be running the camp. The Boys Brigade came over to put up a performance for Children’s Day and the teachers could at least rest. So we welcome any creative ideas to help the centre.
How can we Saints Advocates help?
Learn more about autism and accept the people with it. You have to know and understand them before you can advocate for their cause. If you are really passionate about helping people with autism, those who are interested to work closely with SAAC can contact either Michelle or Jesse and we will tell you further on how you can help. On an individual level, you can spread awareness of autism to your friends. If you see anyone who is autistic, protect them, don’t join in the bullying. You can also come together with your friends from other CCAs, like dance for example, and put up a performance or organize an event to raise awareness and funds.
