We provide early support, counselling, psychological therapy, as well as, assessments for access arrangements and diagnostic purposes, for individuals with Autism from 12 months onwards.
Early Support
Our early support programme is suitable for autistic children from the age of 12 months to 4 years. We utilise the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) approach. ESDM is an evidence-based programme for autistic children up to the age of four years. It is based on Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and uses a naturalistic approach to teach young children social interaction, communication and other skills. To find out more about ESDM, please click here.
During the session, the therapist will work directly with the child and walk parents through the whole process. Parents’ participation is mandatory as the therapist will demonstrate how they work with the child so that parents can continue to work with their child at home. This is to encourage generalisation of skills from our centre to the child’s home.
Our professionals that provide ESDM intervention services are either undergoing or have undergone rigorous training to meet the certification process and are Certified ESDM Therapists. Therapists who are undergoing certification are closely supervised by Certified ESDM Therapists. The certification status of the professionals can be verified at the official ESDM webpage here.
Behavioural and Psychological Interventions
We provide evidence-based psychological therapies and counselling such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to children, adolescents and adults with Autism aged 7 years and above, who at the same time present with various emotional and behavioural concerns such as, but not limited to:
- Anxiety
- Aggression
- Depression
- Emotional difficulties or dysregulation
- Social skills difficulties
- Puberty-related issues (for adolescents)
We also conduct Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS), a social skills programme for autistic adolescents. This programme can be conducted in a group or individually, depending on scheduling and availability. Please click here for more information.
We are well-versed with concerns specific to autistic individuals such as camouflaging and autistic burnout, as well as the different characteristics, nuances and experiences of female autistics.
In line with our middle ground approach, we involve allistic (non-autistic) colleagues, family members, partners and interested parties in our work with the autistic client when consent is given.
Assessments (General)
Access Arrangements
Our psychologists are trained to provide assessments for access arrangements purposes for the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE) and the General Certification of Education (GCE) examinations that meet the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board’s (SEAB) requirements.
Diagnostic Assessments
We provide diagnostic assessments for a wide range of developmental and psychological conditions such as, but not limited to, Autism, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Dyslexia, for children, teenagers and adults. For Autism diagnostic assessments, we utilise a wide range of tools such as the Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum, Second Edition (MIGDAS – 2), Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised (ADI-R).
Screening
We also conduct screenings for Autism for individuals who are concerned that they or their child may shows signs of Autism but who do not want a full diagnostic assessment. We use the same tools for screens as those use for diagnostic assessments. A full detailed report will not be provided but a memo or short summary report can be requested.
Others
We are also able to assess for school readiness, special school application purposes as well as for matters related to National Service (NS).
Assessments (Autism and ADHD – Adults specific)
Based on feedback from autistic adults and to better meet the needs of the autistic community, we have updated the assessment options for Autism and ADHD for adults.
- screen option available for adult ADHD as an add-on to the Autism screen. This service is labelled as “Screen, ADHD, add-on“. This is currently not available as a stand alone service but only available if an Autism screen is requested.
- diagnostic option for adult Autism without a comprehensive report. A 1 to 2 pages memo detailing the features of Autism and the corresponding diagnosis will be provided as part of this service. This service is labelled as “Diagnostic, Autism, NR“, where NR stands for No Report.
- add-on for diagnostic ADHD assessment is available for the Autism diagnostic assessment without report service. This service is labelled as “Diagnostic, ADHD, add-on“. The features of ADHD and the corresponding diagnosis will be included in the 1 to 2 pages memo as detailed above. This is currently not available as a stand alone service but only available if an Autism diagnostic assessment without report is requested.
The following table provide an overview of the Autism and ADHD assessment services for adults.
| Services (Autism and ADHD - Adult specific | Duration | Price | Information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen, Autism | 1 hour | $300 | memo optional, available upon request |
| Screen, ADHD, add-on | 1 hour | $200 | memo optional, available upon request |
| Diagnostic, Autism, NR | 1 - 2 hours | $800 | 1-2 pages memo and diagnosis provided, if criteria met. |
| Diagnostic, ADHD, add-on | 1.5 - 2 hours | $400 | information incorporated into memo and diagnosis provided, if criteria met. |
| Diagnostic, Autism, Standard | 5 - 6 hours | $2000 | Full comprehensive report and diagnosis provided, if criteria met. |
| Diagnostic, Autism, Comprehensive | 8 - 9 hours | $2600 | Full comprehensive report and diagnosis provided, if criteria met. |
| Diagnostic, ADHD | 4 - 5 hours | $1700 | Full comprehensive report and diagnosis provided, if criteria met. |
Individuals interested in an Autism and ADHD diagnostic assessment but who do not require a comprehensive report may request for the NR version of the diagnostic assessments and receive the corresponding diagnosis (if criteria are met) at a lower fee and wait time. Our memos are generally accepted by local government and public organisations although we highly encourage individuals to check with the relevant organisations before taking up any services.
For adults who intend to undergo summative examinations or any form of formal educational examinations, it is recommended that they request for the standard, non-NR versions of the assessments as the additional information from the standard assessments will allow for more specific and individualised access arrangements or exam accommodations. Please check with your organisation or with our team to determine the best form of assessment for your needs.
Telehealth
We also provide early support, psychological therapy, counselling and certain assessments via telehealth. For early support programmes, we will coach parents to provide the intervention for their child via telehealth. The therapist will provide live coaching and guidance as the parents work with their child.
For adults, we are able to provide autism assessments online for the screen, NR and standard versions. For the ADHD add-on options, we are able to provide online services only for the screen and NR versions. Physical presence or face-to-face option is mandatory for the standard ADHD assessment.
Workshops and Training programmes
We provide workshops and training programmes aimed at reducing the “double empathy” problem by equipping allistic individuals with the necessary knowledge and skillsets to interact and socialise with autistic individuals. We are currently developing and piloting a social skills programme for allistic individuals that complements the social skills programme for autistic individuals. We acknowledge that the allistic social skills programme is developed based on feedback and research on autistic individuals with low support needs and that the programme may not fully represent the needs and perspectives of those autistic individuals with higher support needs. We continue to seeks ways to incorporate the perspectives of autistic individuals in our programmes regardless of the level of their support needs.