A more holistic approach to intervention

Intervention in a natural environment

They may be children with some form of developmental disabilities but they are first and foremost children – typical of most children in many ways, enjoying fun time, loving to play, especially water!  So the children and young adults were treated to a visit to a water theme park not too far away.  What was so encouraging was to see staff, parents, children and young adults all playing together.  Opportunities for social interaction, language and communication are a lot more spontaneous and effective than in a formal classroom setting.

Providing dental health care & fostering self-help skills

Dental health clinics make their rounds to Wings Melaka on a regular basis.  During these visits, the children’s teeth are checked, and parents are required to attend talks given by the dental officers.  Parents and staff make the most of the opportunities to discuss issues of dental hygiene and the challenging task of getting their children to brush their teeth regularly.

Learning to make choices in everyday life

For the young adults, going to a shopping centre like TESCO is not just a an exciting outing for the day; it provides numerous learning opportunities such as making choices, managing money, taking turns and queuing up. The goal ultimately is to move towards independent living skills.

Becoming more family-centred

Effective intervention must involve the family of the child with developmental delays.  As Blackman (2002) reminds us, without involvement of the family, interventions are unlikely to be successful.  Thus Wings Melaka holds regular family support group meetings and informal coffee sessions where parents and staff have ample opportunities to share information and provide mutual support.  Such support for the family affirms the fundamental tenet that ‘families and homes are primary nurturing contexts (Odom & Wolery, 2003).  It encourages parents to move away from a mind-set that regards a centre such as Wings Melaka as the only place where real learning takes place.  Instead parents are challenged to assume primary responsibility for the education of their own child.  This is an effective way of empowering our parents (Lim, 2006).

Thanks & appreciation to all our donors

As always, I take this opportunity on behalf of the community at Wings Melaka to express our deep gratitude and appreciation for your invaluable partnership and support.

New staff

Two new staff have joined us on the administration front – Delia Kwong and Tan Seng Chin.

 As for teaching staff, 3 others have joined us: Noorazah – in the Early Intervention Programme (EIP), and Teoh Leong Beng in the Young Adults Programme (YAP).  The third teacher comes to us under special circumstances.  Mr Akira Shiota is a Senior JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Volunteer under the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) programme, with the approval of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department (Malaysia), and he will be attached to Wings Melaka for nearly two years.  Noorazah comes from a banking and ICT background but was motivated to join Wings Melaka after helping a nephew who has ASD.  Leong Beng is a trained psychiatric nurse and has a wealth of experience (including 18 years in the UK) in rehabilitation programmes for clients with emotional and behavioral disorders.  He has taken on the challenge to help us in the YAP, working with young adults with Down Syndrome and ASD.  Mr Shiota has expertise handling adolescents with ASD, having taught for many years in a Japanese High School for Special Needs Education.

On-going programmes

We continue to focus on the 3 main phases of our work – the EIP (27 students), SAP (12students) and YAP (4 young adults).  Inquiries about the programmes at Wings Melaka continue to come in, and there is still a wait-list for assessment and enrollment in the EIP because of insufficient staff.

A heart-felt thanks to all our donors

We are deeply touched by the generosity of our donors, some of whom have chosen to remain anonymous.  But we are aware that many of you have only come to know about us through our website or through GlobalGiving, and yet have chosen to support our work.  I would like on behalf of the Board and Staff of Wings Melaka, to express my gratitude and appreciation for your invaluable partnership and support.

Links:

• Wings Melaka Centre for Developmental Disabilities