PsychWeek Featured Organisation: Down Syndrome Association (DSA) of Singapore

DSA: The first and only association in Singapore catered to provide support specifically for people with Down syndrome and also to their family members.

DSA is a self-funding, non-profit voluntary welfare organization with IPC (Institute of Public Character) status, that was started by a group of parents of children with Down syndrome who recognized the need in Singapore to support and educate families, professionals and the public about Down syndrome.

DSA provides support to people with Down syndrome of all ages with their specially tailored programmes and services. Their extensive variety of programmes include visual art, KidsREAD, swimming, bowling, flower arrangement, drums, puppetry, cooking, gymnastics & fitness, yoga, computer maths, dance, speech & drama, infant toddler programme (ITP) and adult enhancement programme (AEP). These programmes are catered for both children and adults, which is in line with their mission of developing individuals with Down syndrome through lifelong learning and social integration.

In addition, they also provide services such as Children’s Education Services (CES) and Family Support Services (FSS).

In CES, DSA provides assistance to parents with their planning of the most appropriate educational pathway for their children from birth to the age of 18. They support children with Down syndrome who are attending primary schools and kindergartens with their Integration Facilitation Support Programme (IFSP) by adopting a Tripartite Collaborative Approach, which is a collaborative arrangement involving the schools/kindergartens and parents/families of the supported children and DSA(S). They also help to look for providers of educational enrichment activities that are appropriate for children with Down syndrome from ages 4 to 18 to support the learning of functional literacy and numeracy skills.

Through the years, DSA had providers of practical education, such as Singapore Polytechnic, that organised a camp for youths to get a taste of independent living and gain some survival skills, L’Oréal that organised a make-up class for the girls/women, and also music and cooking classes by the Academy of Rock and reputable chefs respectively to further increase their skill sets.

As it can be a stressful journey for uninformed parents of persons with Down syndrome to bring up their children, the team and management of the association started providing FSS to reach out to parents. The purpose of this is to ease their stress by providing a better understanding of the common issues faced. By bringing in experts to share their knowledge and skills with them, this provides information or referrals to other services they may need to avail.

If you know someone who has Down syndrome and see that they can benefit from the provision of the programmes and services provided by DSA as mentioned above, visit http://downsyndrome-singapore.org/ to find out more.

Alternatively, if you would like to lend a helping hand in enriching their lives, you can donate to them through their fundraisers & events or directly through their approved platforms; and/or join them as a volunteer/member.

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Our society flourishes because of the diversity of skills and knowledge we bring to the table. But for this to be everlasting, we need strength, and together we are stronger.

REFERENCES:

1. About DSA. Family Support Services. (n.d.). Retrieved September 01, 2017, from http://downsyndrome-singapore.org/post/view/8/25
2. About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved September 01, 2017, from http://www.downsyndrome-singapore.org/post/view/44