SINGAPORE — Some 2,000 children with mild developmental delays each year will benefit from a learning support and therapy intervention programme when it is rolled out to more pre-schools, following a successful one-year pilot programme, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) announced today (May 10).

Known as the Development Support Programme (DSP), it aims to provide early intervention and help children overcome conditions to make a smoother transition to mainstream schools.

These conditions include learning difficulties, speech and language delays and behavioural problems which must be diagnosed by medical doctors.

The children will go through learning support packages, with the aid of specially trained learning support educators in one-to-one or small group settings within the pre-school, and will also work closely with parents and teachers and also continue to provide classroom support for these children after the completion of their packages.

For those who require specialised intervention, they may be referred for therapy.

The pilot which commenced in May last year involved 308 children from 91 kindergarten from two operators — NTUC First Campus’ My First Skool and the PAP Community Foundation.

Children who went through the programme were assessed to have improved in age-equivalence scores under the Brigance Screen — which assesses developmental progress in the motor, language and academic skills domains, an independent evaluation by specialists at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital found.

About 47 per cent of the children who fully completed their intervention programmes fully attained their Individual Education Plans (IEPs) while half attained 80 per cent of the goals.

MSFActing Minister Chan Chun Sing said: “Through early intervention, we hope to help children with mild developmental delays overcome their challenges earlier.

“The encouraging result from the pilot gives us the confidence to roll out the Development Support Programme to support more children in more pre-schools and regions, even as we continue to make improvements.”

MSF will be injecting S$4 million into the programme yearly. The programme fee costs up to $400 and is determined by the type of intervention recommended for the child.

However, the MSF will provide subsidies and higher levels of support to lower income families.

The fees for the programme are determined by the type of intervention recommended for the child. MSF subsidies are available, with higher levels of support provided to lower income families.