Print this page Are you a caregiver?
If you are caring for someone with a disability, everyday needs can be challenging. Understanding your loved one’s condition, treatment and management, and progession enable you to provide optimal care and prepare for future care needs. Knowing who and where to seek help from can reduce uncertainties and avoid burnout. Learn how you can be an effective caregiver to help you find a balance between work, caregiving, and your personal time.
Digital guidebooks for caregivers
As a caregiver, you may worry about giving the right care and support, and caregiving finances. You may feel tired on more occasions than not, stressed or anxious about the medical and functional conditions of your charge, as well as the long-term care in the event that you are no longer around.
The ABCs of Caregiving digital guidebook strives to provide practical and relevant information to better equip you for your caregiving needs and experience as well as self-care. It is intended as a one-stop resource with concise information to address the challenges in navigating the internet for key information to support caregiving issues, or related services and schemes. Fill up this form to receive your copy of the ABCs of Caregiving digital guidebook.
There are several financial assistance schemes and grants which can help persons with disabilities and caregivers in financial need. The Disability Money Matters is a handy guide collated by SPD’s social workers that details the financial assistance schemes and grants that are relevant to people with disabilities in Singapore. It serves in unifying various financial aids so those in need can have a complete picture of the financial aids they are eligible to apply for. Fill up this form today to receive your copy of the Disability Money Matters digital guidebook.
SPD Programmes
Assistive Technology Loan Library
The Assistive Technology AT Loan Library has a wide range of AT devices available for loan for the purpose of trial use, training and temporary accommodation. Loans are extended to people with disabilities as well as professionals working with people with disabilities.
Specialised Assistive Technology Centre
Technology is a powerful enabler for people with disabilities. With the help of assistive technology (AT), many had been able to overcome their disabilities and become fully integrated into all aspects of community living.
Development Support/Learning Support
The Development Support and Learning Support (DS-LS) programme is an initiative by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to provide on-site intervention and learning support to pre-schoolers with mild developmental needs in mainstream kindergartens and childcare centres.
Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children
Through the Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC), we provide educational and therapy services to children aged six and below diagnosed with special needs that affected their development.
Continuing Therapy Programme
The SPD Continuing Therapy Programme (CTP) is a centre-based programme that offers speech and occupational therapy assessment and intervention for children and youth between the ages of 0-17.
Employment Support Programme (ESP)
SPD offers training courses to people with disabilities to increase their employability and equip them with abilities necessary for the workplace. Training courses in computer skills, job-specific skills and work preparation are offered to equip trainees for employment.
Persons with disabilities will undergo vocational training and employment planning assessments before being recommended suitable training courses.
Transition To Employment
The Transition To Employment (TTE) is a community-based return-to-work programme to re-integrate people with acquired physical disabilities back to mainstream workforce.
Scholarships
We partnered Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) Foundation and Microsoft Singapore to offer the APB Foundation for Persons with Disabilities and Microsoft YouthSpark Scholarship to youths with disabilities. We believe that every child, including those with disabilities, has equal rights to education and we want to help them fulfill their educational aspirations.
SPD Education Programme
We started the SPD Education Programme in 1985 to offer financial assistance to 25 students studying in mainstream schools. Today, the programme has evolved to become one that extends a holistic support to children with disabilities.
The SPD Education Programme encompasses of the bursary award, SPD Youth Aspiration Award, learning and development opportunities and case management services.
Pre-School Classroom Management Workshops
The “Identification and Classroom Management of Pre-Schoolers with Learning Difficulties” workshop was started in January 2012 to provide participants with interventions suitable for classroom settings when working with children with learning difficulties and empowers participants with the knowledge of available resources within the community.
SPD Therapy Hub
We provide a comprehensive range of rehabilitation services, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy to other SPD programmes and community organisations through the SPD Therapy Hub. SPD Therapy Hub coordinates the recruitment, management and training of a pool of professional therapists and deploys them to serve persons with disabilities and the elderly receiving care.
Specialised Case Management Programme
The Specialised Case Management Programme (SCMP) is a nation-wide pilot programme started in October 2006 to support persons of all age groups with disabilities and their caregivers, to empower them to lead more fulfilling and wholesome lives.
Take-A-Break Programme
The Take-A-Break (TAB) programme aims to provide planned short-term home-based respite options for caregivers of persons with disabilities when they need temporary relief from their caregiving duties.
Public Education
We focus our advocacy efforts in three main areas of equal access to education, equal opportunity in employment and equal participation in community, and we do so through the media, community outreach and public education.
Day Care
We operate the Day Activity Centre (DAC) for people with physical and multiple disabilities to nurture their self-help skills through a balanced and structured programme that focuses on social and recreational activities of daily living. At the same time, caregivers and family members get the respite they need and some can choose to continue working without having to worry about the care of their disabled loved ones.
Nursing Care
At SPD@Toa Payoh, we provide nursing treatment such as wound dressing, tube feeding, insertion of feeding tube, administration of medication, oxygen therapy, diabetes care and glucose check.
Therapy Services
We provide physiotherapy and occupational therapy at our SPD rehabilitation centres which are located at SPD Ability Centre and SPD@Toa Payoh. Patients include those with neurological, orthopaedic, medical, surgical conditions and congenital disabilities.
Home Therapy
The home therapy service provides home-based occupational therapy or physiotherapy to people with severe disabilities of all ages. The service is extended to those who are unable to attend therapy at our day rehabilitation centers due to their disabilities.
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