06 Jun 2019
Special Needs Education Educational Psychology Child Psychology Children Development

Children with special needs to be more inclusive in Singapore pre-schools

On April 10, 2019, Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee announced that pre-schools in Singapore will be made more inclusive. A workgroup involving both public and private sectors will be set up to better support children with mild to severe needs in mainstream preschools.
 
Ultimately, it is imperative that different teaching strategies and curriculum are given to children with special needs in Singapore.

What is special needs education?

Special needs education (also known as special education or SPED) is the practice of educating students while addressing their individualized needs. In an ideal setting, it involves teaching methods that are individually planned and monitored, with customized materials. This is designed to help special needs children attain a better level of success in school and their community; it may not be possible if they were only provided access to a typical classroom environment.

What are the types of special needs?

A child may have a certain type of special needs. They may be physical disabled (e.g. muscular dystrophy; epilepsy), have a developmental disability (e.g. autism; dyslexia), emotionally disabled (e.g. bipolar disorder; ADHD) , or sensory-impaired (e.g. visually-impaired; hearing-impaired).

What is the importance of special needs education?

Just like any other children, those with special needs have equal rights to education.

Special needs children face adversity due to lack of support and awareness, and often face discrimination in society. Therefore, special education schools are designed to bring out the best capability in each child.

Furthermore, additional time and teaching methods are required in both home and academic environments, depending on their age and disability. Their support system, such as parents and teachers, have to provide the necessary arrangements according to each students' needs.
There is a high demand for special education teachers in Singapore.

If you are passionate about helping children with special needs, you can enrol at Arium School of Arts & Sciences. We provide students with an in-depth chance to learn about special needs education and how to implement this to children with various degrees of development issues. Students will learn how to help these children with these disorders by applying their knowledge and sequentially receiving practical experiences as well.


We offer several courses related to Special Needs Education:
We offer Professional Certificates for those interested in short courses that provide basic understanding of children with special needs. Our Diploma courses are endorsed by Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (Singapore).

Click here to check out the complete list of the numerous certificate and diploma programs which ASAS offers.