Frequently Asked Questions - On Admission
What are the criteria for admission selection?As a general guideline, our admission criteria covers the following: - Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident
- Age: 6-14 years old at the time of admission
- A diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or ASD-related disorders and social impairment from autism consultant, psychologist or medical practitioner
- Mild to moderate severity of autism
- Cognitive ability with an IQ of 70 and above with an appropriate level of language skills to access mainstream curriculum
- No major behavioural challenges that will disrupt learning in a maximum class size of 8 to 12 students
- Independent in self-help skills such as toileting and feeding
Ultimately, the decision on admission to the school rests with school's Admission Review Committee comprising the principal and other appointed educators and medical professionals.
If my child's non-verbal IQ is less than 70, does that mean he is not eligible for Pathlight at all? How do you measure non-verbal IQ?One of the admission criteria is non-verbal IQ of 70 and above. A child who does not meet this criteria may be better served in other special schools such as Rainbow Centre (RC), Metta Special School, Grace Orchard Special School, APSN School, St.Andrew's Autism Centre and Singapore Autism School.
There are standard assessments done by psychologist that measure a child's non-verbal IQ. These include the Wechsler Scales.
What do you mean by "if the child can access the curriculum"?
Please elaborateThis means that your child is able to function in a classroom environment and does not have the level of sensory integration/ behavioral/ psychological issues that would impede his/her ability to attend to classroom and individual instruction
How do you measure the severity of autism? How do you identify students who should be in Pathlight School?Classification of Autism is according to formal assessment using criteria from DSM-4 medical classification system, and other formal, standardized measures of Autism Spectrum Disorder such as the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) or the Gillian Autism Rating Scale (GARS).
Our assessment criteria is based on the concept of varying levels of inclusion for mainstream education. Pathlight School focuses on children who are cognitively able to access mainstream academics but have difficulties in learning because of their degree of autism. For them to be successful in mainstream they would require significant resources and adjustments to the classroom setting eg. smaller class sizes, support teachers/ aides within the classrooom and significantly different teaching strategies (eg. from auditory to predominantly visual) etc.
How is the intake of students for the school determined?All children have to meet a suitability assessment for intake into Pathlight. Please note that the intake assessment does not automatically guarantee the child a place in Pathlight. Admission will still depend on various factors such as: - fulfilment of stipulated Admission Criteria
- outcome of intake assessment by Pathlight's psychologists and educationists
- review by Admissions & Review Committee
- availability of sufficient physical & teaching resources, class suitability
- overall school capacity
- time of application
Clients from ARC(S), WeCAN Early Intervention Programme and ARC(S) Outreach Service do get priority. However, chances of your child entering the school will still depend largely on the criteria above.
Will non-verbal kids be eligible for the school?Children who are expressively non-verbal will not be excluded from Pathlight School as long as they meet the other admission criteria. In particular, children need to have receptive language understanding that allows them to access the mainstream curriculum.
Who will be assessing whether my child is eligible for Pathlight School? We did an assessment 2 years ago, would that be valid?The psychological assessment can be done by any registered psychologist (either from Rainbow Centre, KKH, NUH, MOE Educational Psychologist, private practice, etc)
If the assessment was done less than 2 years ago and contains the relevant information required, the child may not have to undergo another assessment by a psychologist.
My child is not with ARC. He is doing badly in mainstream. How can I transfer him into Pathlight School?You can approach the MOE Educational Psychologist or any private psychologist to assess your child for Pathlight School's suitability. When the diagnostic and psychogical assessment reports are ready, send in the complete set of application forms to Pathlight School, together with the necessary reports.
How do you assess whether a child goes into mainstream or Pathlight School?The child can undergo a School Readiness Assessment with any psychologist. In this assessment, it will reflect the child's readiness to learn (anxiety management, self-modulation, motivation etc.), level of functional communication, work habits, cognitive and social skills. Recommendations will be done depending on the outcome of the assessment.
If he is recommended to go into mainstream, but fails, what are the chances that we can put him back into Pathlight School?This will largely depend on the availability of suitable places in Pathlight. Having said that, there are other programs in the ARC that can support an ASD child who is in mainstream to ensure a higher level of success.
If my child does not make it into Pathlight School and has to remain in mainstream school, how else can he/ she be supported?A spectrum of services ranging from primary to secondary school and young adults levels is provided at ARC to support ASD children in mainstream schools. For more information, please refer to our website: http://www.autism.org.sg.
|
