Our individual programmes include Individual Teaching-Learning Session, Subang Jaya Learning Box Computer Programme and Art & Creativity Programme.  We also conduct group programmes such as Music & Movement Therapy, Sunday Group Therapy, Snoezelen Room, Pre-Vocational and Storytelling. All these strongly reinforce the learning process of our children and enable them to recognise, differentiate, value and appreciate people, things, objects and situations in a natural and orderly manner.  

The above REACh programmes focus on the overall development of the child in terms of mental, language; speech and communication; motor; social; and self-help. Most parents tend to believe that only the mental and speech defects of the child need to be corrected and once those are adjusted, the child should be able to make progress in the other areas.  This is unfortunately not true. All five areas must be addressed simultaneously in order for them to successfully join normal schools and be integrated into society.

PROGRAMMES WE OFFER

1. Individual Teaching-Learning Programme

We create individualised curriculum to suit each child's ability and need.  The teaching curriculum covers four aspects of development such as mental; language, speech and communication skills; social skills; personal and self-help skills; and motor skills.

2. Subang Jaya Learning Box Computer Programme

We have computer classes daily for our children with the aim to integrate these children into the new information era by introducing educational programs via computer to help them improve their language development, concept learning, motor skills, psychosocial skills and motor co-ordination.

3. Arts & Creativity Programme

There are two parts in this programme:- Computer Simulated Programme is used to understand the thinking pattern of autistic children so that we can guide them towards accepting new stimulations.   Art Class is to help the autistic children learn to draw and play with colours.

4. Music & Movement Therapy

The objective of this session is to help the children to  develop language, social, imaginative and motor skills.  The rhythms and harmonies of different tunes can attract the attention of an autistic child.  And when this happens, the child becomes more responsive and reacts favourably as his/her sensory functions (sight, sound and touch) are gradually stimulated by the music.

5. Play Therapy

Play is an important part of children’s life, and a lack of play skills isolate children with autism from others. Generally, children with autism have problems in generating pretend play.  Play may reduce repetitive and rigid behavioural patterns of play in children with autism.  Overall it addresses the Triad of impairments in children with autism, i.e. social interaction, social communication and imagination.
 

6. Sunday Group Therapy

We hold Sunday Group Therapy weekly. This program is aimed to create opportunities for the children to socialise and interact with each other and also to learn living skills such as household work, handicraft, woodwork and preparing their own meals. Parents or any family members are required to be with the children so as to provide support for each other and to receive training on how to handle their children. This session is fully conducted by parents of our Centre with the help of some volunteers.

7. Snoezelen Room

This room provides an environment for tranquility and relaxation through visual, auditory and touch stimulation. The gentle stimulation has a soothing effect that helps reduce temper tantrums and agitation in the autistic child.

8.   Sensory Integration Therapy

Sensory integration is a process that allows us to take in information through the senses and put the information into a form that helps us make sense of the environment. The senses include touch, vision, hearing, smelling, tasting, movement sense (vestibular) and joint sense (propioception).  In sensory integration therapy, children learn to organize the information they receive from their different senses. This allows them to engage better in meaningful and purposeful activities. This form of therapy has been reported to be extremely helpful for some groups of children with autism.

9. OptiMusic

OptiMusic combines the visual and the audible components for a truly revolutionary ‘virtual keyboard in space’. The user breaks the visible light beams with a reflective paddle or glove to activate a chorus of sounds, an orchestra of instruments, whole songs and melodies or a cacophony of animal, transport or comedy sounds. The user can alternatively place a reflector on the floor and strike a note using his finger, foot, hand and whole body.  It is a liberating tool in the sensory environment. The bright colourful beams of light act as powerful stimulus for autistic children to locate and focus on the source of the music. These visual reference points help autistic children to realize that their movements are controlling the sounds they hear, thus empowering them to influence their environment.

10.  Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy uses purposeful activities to help children achieve their greatest level of independence in their day-to-day activities such as self-care, play, social skills and school performance, as well as prevocational training for the adolescent to prepare for transition into the society.  It involves the use of various approaches such as, sensory integration, behavioural modification and neurodevelopmental therapy.  The occupation of childhood is to develop the skills to become functional and independent adults

11. Pre-Vocational Programme

We have a Pre-Vocational Programme where we use art and craft to enhance aesthetic values in the children by stimulating their visual, emotional and sensory abilities.

12. Storytelling Session

Storytelling session is a programme that was started since 2004. It is a monthly program where we use stories to stimulate the autistic children in developing language, creative and social skills through listening and communication.

13. Respite Care

Parents will exchange children to teach.  They will also bring the children to visit each other's home and enable them to socialise.  The Centre also organises camps to train the children to be independent.

14. Diagnostic and Development Assessments

We provide free diagnostic and developmental assessments for the children. Diagnostic assessment is used to confirm if the child is autistic and the developmental assessment is carried out to assess the developmental stages of the child.

15. Training Session

16. Resource Centre

We have been serving as a resource centre, with a good collection of audio-visual and reading materials on autism to the family of autistic children.  We also have a selection of books for the autistic children to encourage them to read.
 

17. Awareness

We organise exhibitions, roadshows and workshops that promote awareness of autism.  Awareness means early diagnosis and early intervention for the autistic children.

18. Counselling Service

19. Parent Support Group

We have a parent support group who meet to provide support and assistance to each other. This is where parents get together to discuss the progress of their children and organise social activities and outings for their children.

20. Research

Research serves to update treatment and intervention methods for autistic children.  Data collected over the years of practice can be rationalised and put on strong scientific foundations.  At present we are conducting studies on:-

a) Understanding the mind or thinking patterns of autistic children.
b) Use of sensory integration to relax and calm the autistic children.
c) Inclusion of autistic children into mainstream education.

Through this success, we are all the more convinced that autistic children can cope with normal living IF there is an early diagnosis, appropriate intervention, and effective training programmes to follow.

All the above services and programmes have been made possible because of the kind and generous support from the public. Their support have enabled us to continue our FREE services for the autistic children and their families, and moving ahead to further improve our services.

It is our hope that we could extend our services to all autistic children in Malaysia. Our vision is to become the source of information, training and motivation for parents of autistic children throughout Malaysia. We hope to continue our research work aimed to serve as a centre of research for autism in Malaysia.