Helping families develop the confidence to travel with their special needs child

SINGAPORE — Unsure if he could handle his intellectually disabled sister when she starts shouting or approaching strangers, Mr Alan Koo, 54, had never considered bringing her overseas.

But this changed after the senior supervisor at a manufacturing firm returned from a three-day trip to Phuket organised by the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singa­pore (MINDS) for its clients and travel management company, Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT), where he learnt how to better manage his sister’s behaviour when she gets excited.

When she created a ruckus, for instance, he gently warned her that she needed to calm down or he would not take her on another trip. “My sister did not react so aggressively ... Now, I feel more confident. The next time I bring her out, it’ll be easier to (manage) her,” said Mr Koo.

MINDS organised the trip with CWT, after realising that many of their clients have never travelled, as their caregivers thought it would be too challenging.

“Even if finances permit, caregivers can be reluctant to travel for fear of not being able to handle their child in a foreign land,” said MINDS chief executive Keh Eng Song. “Having extra support from MINDS and CWT to look after and engage their children allows caregivers to enjoy some rest and have fun with their kids without worrying.”

The trip could also help other families “build confidence that they can bring their special-needs child overseas”. While MINDS has not planned a second trip for now, Mr Keh said the trip is the first step towards group trips where fellow caregivers can support each other. He also hoped more travel agencies would come forward to sponsor similar trips.

For this trip, MINDS selected five families with intellectually disabled children, who are also financially challenged and had not flown overseas before. They were accompanied by two MINDS employees and three volunteers from CWT, which took on the trip as corporate social responsibility project.

The trip took CWT about a year to prepare for, including securing sponsors, finding suitable destinations and accommodation, and planning special activities for MINDS’ clients. CWT’s meetings and events team planned an itinerary around places that were not crowded. The trip incorporated activities such as batik painting as MINDS’ beneficiaries enjoy arts and crafts, said CWT human resources director (Southeast Asia and Hong Kong) Alice Loh.

Other travel agencies here also cater to people with intellectual or physical disabilities. Dynasty Travel said airlines and cruises have been “proactive in addressing issues to accommodate passengers with disabilities”.

Ms Alicia Seah, Dynasty’s marketing communications director, said the agency receives about one to two such requests each year, such as from a group of 30 hearing-impaired children and their teachers.

She added that such trips do not usually last more than four days, and the groups are taken to nearby destinations such as Malaysia. The agency also arranges for accommodation in the city centre for easy access to sightseeing locations.

Chan Brothers said it has taken groups of hearing-impaired travellers on its tours. Aside from arranging for a chaperone who knows sign language to accompany such groups, the agency said it also ensures that such tours are held at a pace that allows enough time for explanations to be translated into sign language.

While SA Tours has yet to receive similar requests for tours catered to people with disabilities, its general manager Eva Wu said the agency would look into destinations that do not require long periods of travel to arrive at, as it can be stressful being confined in a plane or bus for an extended period of time.