Poon, Kenneth K.

In this presentation, Ms Tan Peng Chian talked about “Including preschool children with developmental needs: Factors influencing teachers’ Intention and use of inclusive practices”.

Much of early childhood care and education policies and practices worldwide have been informed by a knowledge base derived from longitudinal studies of child outcomes in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries in the Northern hemisphere. There is an urgent need to acknowledge that research on young children in Singapore (as much as in other Asian contexts) needs to be supported by indigenous research to validate measures developed and normed elsewhere, and to verify and ascertain the factors that influence children’s developmental pathways across culturally diverse contexts. This pilot study, thus, set out to trial a selection of child measures, as well as design and pilot a parent survey that aims to yield useful baseline data on how families in Singapore are raising their 4-to-5-year-olds in this particular climate of academic pursuit and educational competition.

"This study sought to understand how students with mild disabilities are supported in Singapore mainstream schools."-page 14.

Research focusing on the intervention and support of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has grown exponentially but this increase research has not been mirrored for adults with ASD. With the aims of informing intervention planning, improving quality of life, and areas for future research, 18 peer-reviewed research articles reporting the outcomes of adults with ASD were systematically reviewed. Despite methodological limitations, the literature review revealed a surprisingly high level of concordance in findings. Adults with ASD continue to experience significant degrees of impairment in the core deficits and correspondingly poor outcomes in social role attainment. Based on these findings, suggestions for the development of intervention and educational programs were proposed. Whilst no studies have targeted the quality of life of adults with ASD, the findings suggest a poor quality of life based on objective indicators. Directions for future research were also proposed.