Parents of special-needs children now have a new online portal that can guide them before they enroll their children in the Government's structured programme. The online portal has been developed by Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) students of Singapore.
Project Epic (Empowering Parents, Inspiring Children) is an online site specifically designed for parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and global developmental delay, NYP said in a media release yesterday.
It features demo videos that show parents working with their special-needs children, inspiring parent-child stories, online news resources and websites with reliable and curated information, as well as a “roadmap to empowerment”.
The portal aims to bridge the gap when parents need support before their children are enrolled in the Government’s structured Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC). A child with special needs may wait between three and 24 months before he or she is enrolled in EIPIC. While waiting, the child may receive physical or speech therapy, for example, but the support is very limited and infrequent.
After discussions with professionals, including speech and occupational therapists, social workers and an educational psychologist, as well as interviewing 19 parents of children with special needs, NYP students developed Project Epic to help parents through this interim period.
Since the portal went live in August last year, the site has received more than 4,300 views.
The portal can be accessed at nypprojectepic.com