New special needs school in Ang Mo Kio to begin operations in June
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Guest of honour Eric Chua (centre), who is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Social and Family Development, at APSN's golden jubilee celebration held at Marina Bay Sands on April 10.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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- A new APSN school for students with autism and intellectual disability (ASD-ID) opens in June 2026, starting with Primary 1 intake.
- APSN addresses the rising ASD-ID trend with smaller classes and visual aids after staff training and learning from other SPED schools.
- Government initiatives like the Enabling Masterplan 2030 target post-18 support, highlighted by Eric Chua to avoid a "post-18 cliff."
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SINGAPORE – A new school for students with autism and intellectual disability will start operating in June at the former site of APSN Chaoyang School in Ang Mo Kio.
It will admit only autism spectrum disorder-intellectual disability (ASD-ID) students, unlike the APSN’s four other schools, which serve students with intellectual disability.
The new school will include elements to meet the needs of students with autism. For example, class sizes will be smaller and educators will use more visual support structures such as charts.
APSN Education Services board chairman Anthony Fok said the organisation has seen a rising number of ASD-ID students, attributing it to earlier detection and parents becoming more aware of intervention options.
“To move into this area, we needed to train our staff. We have gone on learning journeys to other SPED (special education) schools to learn the best practices from them, and we’re also thankful that they are willing to share,” said Dr Fok.
He was speaking to The Straits Times on April 10 at APSN’s 50th anniversary celebration, which was held at Marina Bay Sands. APSN was formerly known as the Association for Persons with Special Needs.
The new school will begin as a programme with 50 Primary 1 pupils in 2026, and take in a batch of similar size in 2027. When fully established, it will support students aged between seven and 18.
It is the first of three new SPED schools slated to open by the early 2030s to cater to an increasing number of students diagnosed with ASD-ID in Singapore. The other two will be set up by the Autism Association (Singapore) and St Andrew’s Autism Centre.
The three new SPED schools were announced in March by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education Syed Harun Alhabsyi during the debate on the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) budget.
Intellectual disability is characterised by difficulties in problem-solving, abstract thinking and planning, whereas autism is defined mainly by having issues with social integration and communication, and repetitive behaviour. Students with ASD-ID have a combination of these issues.
APSN’s four schools, which serve a total of over 1,300 students between the ages of seven and 21, are currently operating at “near full capacity”, Dr Fok said.
APSN Chaoyang School and APSN Tanglin School started sharing a new site in Ang Mo Kio in January, which brought their primary and secondary school students together on one campus.
By the early 2030s, SPED schools in Singapore will be able to serve a projected 12,000 students, up around 30 per cent from 9,000 currently, said Dr Syed Harun.
MOE said students with autism now make up the largest group among those with special educational needs, and the quick increase in incidence rates of autism with intellectual disability is in line with global trends.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Law and Social and Family Development Eric Chua noted at the APSN celebration that Singapore is at the mid-point of the Enabling Masterplan 2030, which was launched in 2022. Earlier editions of the masterplan focused on the first 18 years of life for persons with disabilities (PWDs). Attention has now turned to life beyond this milestone, said Mr Chua.
He listed several government initiatives to this end, such as the Enabled Living Programme, where PWDs live in public rental flats instead of being institutionalised.
“We want to invest heavily our resources, our energy and our efforts in the post-18 space, to really address the post-18 cliff that we all know about.”
The post-18 cliff refers to the lack of options for people with special needs past the age of 18 who have graduated from SPED schools.
A SPED school graduate who found her way after that age is Ms Priyadashani Mohamed Husain, 26, a former student of APSN Delta Senior School who has mild intellectual disability.
Ms Priyadashani Mohamed Husain, a former student of APSN Delta Senior School, now teaches art and physical education, among other subjects, at APSN Chaoyang School.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Not only did she represent Singapore in the 100m and 400m sprints at the 2017 Special Olympics, but she also became a teacher aide at APSN Chaoyang School at the suggestion of her school’s principal.
Ms Priyadashani, who now teaches art and physical education, among other subjects, said: “I love being in class with the kids, knowing them, their behaviour and how to manage the class.”
