Past Events

SOUTH WEST CDC YOUTH CAMP 2009

Entrepreneurship Sales Challenge
A few schools in the South West territory participated in this event which was organised by the South West Community Development Council (SW CDC). It was held at West Mall Shopping Centre from 27 to 28 October 2009 Under the theme of entrepreneurship, the students worked hard to sell their products in the 2-day event. With the equal-matching by SW CDC, a final total amount of $5,318.32 was raised and donated fully to support the Early Intervention Program of Autism Children’s Centre at Clementi !

Two members from the panel of judges, Ms Elim Chew (lady in black T-shirt), Managing Director of 77th Street and Mr Low Min Chye (on Ms Elim’s right), Vice-Chairman of Youth FC, South West CDC, were given the challenging task of selecting the winners!

A cheque being presented by Dr Amy Khor, Mayor of South West District (lady in brown dress) to Krish Phua, Manager (Corporate Services), AAS (man in white shirt)

RAISING THE EDEN SCHOOL BUILDING FUND

AA(S) and Eden School are on a donation drive to raise $3 million to fund the new Eden School building at Bukit Batok West Avenue 3. The building serves to provide better facilities for students with autism. Below are some caring organisations and corporations that supported the worthy cause. Gala Dinner of Keppel Club Charity 2009 at Keppel Hall on 11 October 2009 Donation: $25,000.00

Keppel Club Charity 2009 (Donation: $25,000) Standing from left to right) Mr Fock Siew Wah, Chairman of Keppel Club, Guest Of Honour, Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Mr Edwin Khew Teck Fook, President of Keppel Club and Mr Ho Swee Huat, Chairman of AA(S)	Funding by StarHub of 2 Computer Laboratories (Donation $200,000) Mr Eddie Koh, Chairman of Eden School Board, proudly receives the generous donation from Ms Jeannie Ong, Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations from StarHub	20th Annual Donations, Awards & Scholars Presentation Ceremony by JCCI Singapore Foundation Limited (Donation: $30,000.00) Mr Mohamed Jamil (left), Vice-Chairman of AA(S) receiving the donation from Mr Hiroyuki Yamamoto (right), Minister of Japan to Singapore.	Go The Extra Mile in Exchange for a Smile" by McConnell Dowell South East Asia Pte Ltd (Donation: $9,228.00) Social Worker of AA(S), Kho Wai Leng and Principal of Eden School, Mrs Jenny Lai (second and third from left in the front row), receiving the donation from Mr Murray Dundas, Managing Director of McConnell Dowell (standing on the extreme left in the back row).
Golfing for a Worthy Cause by Golf Republic Forum (Donation: $5,000.00) Mrs Jenny Lai, Principal of Eden School, receives the donation from Golf Republic Forum represented by Mr Collin Ang, Administrator and Chairman of the Committee.

Thow Kwang Industry (TKI)

AN EXCURSION TO THOW KWANG INDUSTRY
On 16 October 2009, staff and clients of Autism Youth Centre (AYC) together with friends from SAP visited Thow Kwang Industry, a company that produces consumer pottery wares and an extensive range of local flavoured decorative ornaments.
AYC youths tried making pottery using the hand building technique at the workshop section. The owner of Thow Kwang Industry, Mrs Tan, showed how simple actions of hand manipulation skills such as rolling, pulling, pinching and shaping the clay can be therapeutic for the youths.
Some of AYC youths again tried their hands and eventually managed to complete some fine looking “masterpieces” when they were led to another section where the pottery art pieces were created on the potter’s wheel.
The next stop was the dragon kiln. Pottery is usually fired in a kiln which is similar to an oven. The Thow Kwang dragon kiln is the one and only working dragon kiln in Singapore.

Children’s Day at Fidgets (CDF)

CHILDREN’S DAY AT FIDGETS!
For 2009, the Autism Children’s Centre celebrated their Children’s Day at Fidgets, an indoor playhouse situated at Turf City. The event was made possible with the kind sponsorship of Bloomberg Singapore who also enlisted some 60-odd volunteers to help make the event a success. The event was celebrated over 2 Fridays, with ACC-Simei on 25 September and ACC-Clementi on 2 October. Participation by families was good, with siblings joining in the fun as well. Also on hand was volunteer photographer, Wendy Schinell, who happily snapped away the moment the kids arrived.
At Fidgets, the kids dispersed out over the entire area and got busy attacking the obstacles, slides, ball house and even a mini-flying fox. Over at the toddlers’ area, there were softplay challenges and baby buggies to ride. Volunteers were kept busy as they attempted to keep up with these power-charged kids.
Snack was a welcome break about an hour and a half into the play. The kids and families were ushered into a brightly decorated and refreshingly cool party room to enjoy their drinks and some snacks. This was now time for the volunteers to relax, have a bite themselves and to simply recharge. Kids who did not had enough, returned to the play area. However, it was clear that most kids had depleted their energy resources by then and were contented to sit and enjoy their fries, sausages, nuggets, sandwiches and fish fingers. Towards the end, majority of the group made their way back to the buses while a few families stayed on to continue the fun.

Asian Youth Games (AYG)

SOUTH WEST CDC - Asian Youth Games Torch Relay
On Sunday 28 June 2009, the South West Community Development Council (SWCDC) organized an Asian Games for Toddlers cum Arts at the Malls @ South West, to engage families in celebration of the 1st Asian Youth Games (AYG) in Singapore. As part of the festivities, the SWCDC supported the community leg of the AYG Torch Relay @ South West, with a charitable component.
AAS was one of the only two beneficiaries of these events! Heartfelt thanks to SWCDC and Heatec Jietong Pte Ltd, which together donated $10,000 to AAS for running the enrichment and developmental programmes for our clients at ACC Clementi!

Underwater World Sentosa (UWS)

A TRIP TO THE SINGAPORE UNDERWATER WORLD AT SENTOSA
On 24 April 2009, Autism Youth Centre (AYC)’s clients, parents and care-givers were treated to a visit at the Singapore Underwater World in Sentosa. The trip was sponsored jointly by the CIBA Vision Asian Manufacturing and Logistics Private Limited and the Novartis Singapore Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Private Limited. A total of 44 staff from both the companies graciously volunteered their time for this event. The group set off from AYC at 9.30 am and reached the Dolphin Lagoon at 11 am to catch the first dolphin show for the day. After the exciting show, they proceeded on to the Underwater World where they stopped for lunch before going in. Volunteers were abound in distributing out mouth savouring ice-cream treats to all the participants following their lunch. With renewed energy, the group entered the Underwater World to explore the vast exhibits, which spanned three-floors. Clients and their parents/caregivers enjoyed themselves tremendously; as for most of them, it was their first time at the Underwater World. The volunteers helped to make the experience better for the clients, by guiding them around the facility and interacting with them. The group finally left Underwater World at 3pm to return to AYC.

Occupational Therapy Talk

Another session of the OT Talk was held on 23 February 2009 at the auditorium of Clementi Community Centre. KIDZ Pediatric Occupational Therapy Consultants Pte Ltd conducted the 3 hours workshop which was attended by over 80 parents. The workshop focuses on the Floor Time model which is an individualised intervention that is developmental and relationship-based. Emotionally based interactions are at the heart of Floor Time. For more details on the topic, please refer to our issue of AutismLinks April 2009.

A VERY SPECIAL WALK 2010

Pathlight is a sister school of Eden School. They are run by Autism Resource Centre (S) and Autism Association (Singapore) respectively. Since 2005, A Very Special Walk (AVSW) has been a fundraising event for Pathlight School. Its objective in raising funds for projects is to further enhance the integration and employability of individuals with autism into the mainstream society.

As a gesture of giving back, this year’s AVSW 2010 is dedicated to raise funds to help build a better equipped Eden School with the aim of becoming the vocational school of choice for students with autism where potential is maximised”!

On Saturday 17 July 2010, the event commenced with the arrival of The Guest of Honour, Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Manpower, who marked the start of this year's adventure The Hollywood Experience!

Families and friends came together for movies and fun activities at Pathlight School, Ang Mo Kio. They had a choice of viewing indoor or outdoor movie screenings on autism related films, general feature films and cartoons. Snacks, pastries, finger-foods and drinks were prepared and sold by students and volunteers; one way of showcasing the capabilities of students from both Pathlight and Eden School.

Merchandise like stationery sets and T-shirts designed by Pathlight students were sold off at the Pathlight Mall like hot cakes. On certain occasions, entrance to the mall had to be regulated to allow those inside some space to browse and pick up items that they wish to buy.

Other activities that attracted lots of interest were beautiful balloon sculpturing, glamorous makeover, face painting, SpongeBob-making, water-games, flea market etc.

There were plenty of photo-taking opportunities with 15 exotic Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratis etc, and with movie characters like Star Wars Clone Troopers, SpongeBob SquarePants, King & Queen of Hearts, Dora the Explorer, Pirates of the Caribbean and "Jackie Chan, when they were flaunting and parading on the red carpet A Very Special Walk of the event! It was a day of fun and excitement indeed!

The gross amount raised before expenses is estimated to be $412,098.50! On behalf of Pathlight and Eden School, a deep appreciation is to be rendered to all the sponsors, donors (monetary as well as in kind), volunteers, participants, parents, the management and event organising committee, staff and students of Pathlight and Eden School, who cared and supported the establishment of a better learning environment for the students with autism at Eden School!

(More pictures are available at the Photo Gallery)

OUTING AT SINGAPORE DISCOVERY CENTRE

15 students from the Singapore Management University (SMU) conducted an excursion for clients of Autism Children’s Centre as part of their post Overseas Community Service Project. The group of volunteers planned and coordinated a trip to the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC) on 25 February 2010 for 11 children with autism aged 5 to 6 years.

Upon arrival, a guide from SDC led the group to the Activity Room. After introductions were made between the children and their assigned volunteers, the guide proceeded to conduct a short tour for everyone. Snacks were served at the cafe. Thereafter it was free play and exploration time at various activity and exhibit areas. By 4 pm it was time to go home. The group assembled and took the bus back to ACC Clementi.

That was not the end as the SMU volunteers surprised the kids by presenting them with gifts @ Block A Banana Classroom. Kudos to the volunteers for a job well done as they had put in a lot of effort and time in ensuring the success of the event.

The children had so much fun that they were able to remember their assigned volunteers and the activities when the outing was brought up as a topic for recall in class.

(More pictures are available at the Photo Gallery)

FUN @ WEST COAST PARK

The Autism Children’s Centre (Clementi & Simei), organised an outing for their clients and families at West Coast Park on a Saturday morning, 10th April 2010.

There were game stalls set up by volunteers and teachers e.g. face painting, golf, ball throw – cans & ‘mouth’ etc, as well as large group games like parachute play. Goodie bags were distributed to each family. Each child received a sculpture balloon sponsored by Partylicious.sg. There were also gift packs at each game stall. Although the children were unable to play at the Adventure Playground and the Sand Play area due to heavy rain, they were able to continue with some of the big group games under the tentage set-up.

A variety of finger food (halal, non-halal and GFCF type) was brought by parents as pot luck. The event was wrapped up earlier because of the continuous rain. We would like to thank the volunteers from SingCapital Pte Ltd, friends, parents and teachers for their participation and help.

(More pictures at Photo Gallery)

AAS 17th Annual General Meeting

The AGM was conducted on 26 June 2010 (Sat) at the new Eden School along Bukit Batok West Avenue 3. It started with a talk addressed by Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC) on the topic of its Trusteeship Scheme which illustrates the assistances from SNTC in helping the caregivers in setting up a trust fund to provide for the future financial and care needs of their loved ones.

After the talk, Mr Ho Swee Huat and Ms Denise Phua, Chairman and Executive Committee Member of AA(S), enthusiastically shared the progresses, performances and future plans of the two Children’s Centres, Youth Centre and Eden School.

An election for the new team of AA(S) Executive Committee (EC) from June 2010 to June 2012, was conducted in this year’s AGM, with the members as follows:
Chairman: Mr Ho Swee Huat
Vice-Chairman: Mr Jamil Amin
Hon. Secretary: Ms Margaret Chua
Hon. Treasurer: Mr Tan Buck Chye
EC Member: Ms Denise Phua
Ms Joanne Wee
Mr Chong Teik Yean
Mr Lim Yue Khim

AA(S) would like to take the opportunity to welcome Mr Chong and Mr Lim to be the new team members of AA(S) EC, while expressing the heart-felt appreciation to the invaluable contributions made by Mr Siew Heng Kwok and Ms Eu Chin Fen who stepped down from the AA(S) EC.

Click on the pictures for captions.