Building Bridges EIPIC Centre
The Early Intervention Programme for Infants and Children (EIPIC) is a centre-based programme catering to children with developmental needs. It provides educational and therapy services for children aged 6 and below diagnosed with special needs that will affect their development.
EIPIC aims to facilitate development and improvement in –
- Gross motor and fine motor skills
- Cognitive skills
- Speech, language and communication skills
- Social skills
- Self-help skills
SPD was appointed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the National Council of Social Service to set up two EIPIC centres:
- Building Bridges EIPIC Centre (Tiong Bahru), started on 3 October 2011 for children who live in the central areas
- Building Bridges EIPIC Centre (Jurong East), to be ready by early 2012 for children who live in the west areas
The early intervention approach
A trans-disciplinary team of allied professionals (occupational therapist, speech & language therapist, social worker, psychologist, etc) provides therapy and/or consultation and family support according to the needs of each child and his/her family and to support small group teaching conducted by early childhood and/or early intervention trained teachers in class.
Structured teaching approach and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) will be used for children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD).
- There are three 2.5-hour sessions a day:
- 8.30am – 11.00am
- 12.00pm – 2.30pm
- 3.00pm – 5.30pm
- Children below 18 months old will receive 2 hours of therapy consultation weekly
- Children above 18 months old will receive 5 hours of class-based early intervention weekly
- The centre offers early intervention services 12 months a year
- Each child will have an individualised educational plan (IEP) designed by the EIPIC team and parents. The IEP is reviewed half-yearly.
Caregiver involvement
Parental involvement is critical to a child’s development in the early years. Parents are encouraged to participate actively in the early intervention programme, parent training programmes, parent support groups, agency visits, and/or family recreational activities organised by the centre.
Referral procedures
- Singapore citizens or Permanent Residents are to contact the Centre for Enabled Living (CEL) for a referral. Foreigners can contact SPD’s social workers for a self-referral.
- Applicants will undergo an initial screening before admittance to the programme.
- Both CEL and the child’s caregivers will receive an acknowledgement in writing within two weeks of receipt of the referral.
Age criteria for admission
Applications should be submitted before the child reaches 5½ years old at the point of referral.
Fee structure and subsidies
- Fees are determined by MCYS’ Means Testing
- To confirm the fees charged, caregivers are required to submit the child’s birth certificate and IC size photo, as well as the caregivers’ IC and income documents for the Means Test review before admission.
Caregivers requiring financial assistance can contact SPD’s Community & Social Service Department (CSSD)
- Jess Ho 6579 0750 Jess_HO@spd.org.sg