In addition to adding more childcare places and opening more eldercare facilities, perhaps Singapore should consider opening an inclusive village for adults with special needs.

Parents of adult children with special needs worry about future care arrangements for their children as they face their own ageing and death.

"Who will be taking care of my child after I die?" is uppermost in their minds.

Their adult children with special needs require a protected environment where they can be gainfully employed, respected, accepted with kindness and safely accommodated with a healthy sense of belonging.

I envisage a village that provides these adults with jobs and accommodation alongside people without special needs.

This inclusive village could also accommodate university students, who can organise events and activities that engage and support adults with special needs.

In a progressive nation like Singapore which embraces equity and inclusiveness, adults with special needs deserve safe spaces to continue to thrive, with or without their parents.

Rebecca Chan (Dr)