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Remember highly dependent special-needs children in inclusive society push

There has been a lot of discussion about moving towards a more inclusive society (“Not all special needs children can join the mainstream straight away” and “One in three special-needs children faces insensitive treatment: Survey”; both July 5).

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Jasmine Lee Jin Zuan

There has been a lot of discussion about moving towards a more inclusive society (“Not all special needs children can join the mainstream straight away” and “One in three special-needs children faces insensitive treatment: Survey”; both July 5).

The stakeholders of the special needs community are now working together on the next five-year Enabling Masterplan to promote inclusion. What do members of the public, however, understand by the term “special needs”?

Autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger’s syndrome and dyslexia are commonly picked up by the media, especially when we talk about inclusion. These individuals are usually the higher-functioning ones who look normal, but have behavioural and/or learning challenges.

These are invisible disabilities we would not know they have until we interact with them, whereas in some ways, we know about cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, spinal muscular atrophy, deafness, blindness and other physical handicaps.

More information about rare diseases is printed nowadays, while we also have the undiagnosed and those who depend on medical equipment to sustain their daily living.

There must be greater awareness that “special needs” are not only about those who can walk, talk, eat and drink normally, and also attend mainstream schools.

There are other highly dependent children who may need, for example, a ventilator for help with their breathing or tubes for their nutrition.

Some use technology to help them communicate; some depend on carers to push them around in a buggy or wheelchair, or they use a motorised wheelchair. My daughter, four, also had a tracheostomy done to create a hole in her throat to secure her airway.

Above and beyond their medical needs, some do attend mainstream schools. Whether highly functional or highly dependent, we are all humans who feel and think. What differs is the means of expressing our thoughts.

Being highly dependent does not mean one can only be at home. We, too, want to go out and get some fresh air. Please also remember us when planning for inclusion.

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