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April 12, 2007

More to get help to cope with disability

By Yap Su-Yin

NEW HOPE: With counselling and emotional support from the Society for the Physically Disabled's case management programme, Mr Jimmy Tan, seen here with his mother, Madam Ang, has become less demanding and is considering taking up vocational training. -- DESMOND WEE

HOUSEWIFE Ang Ah Poh, 62, was at a loss when her son Jimmy suffered a stroke at the age of 32 that impaired his movement.

Depressed and unable to cope, he refused to speak. His temper soured and his mother, his main caregiver, bore the brunt of it.

Those were tough times, recalled Madam Ang in Hokkien.

'I waited on him hand and foot after his stroke, but I'm old and it was difficult to manage,' she said.

Luckily, five months ago, the Society for the Physically Disabled (SPD) put Mr Jimmy Tan on its new specialised case management programme, which turned things around for both mother and son.

Madam Ang said: 'With counselling and emotional support, he has become less demanding and more independent and is even considering taking up vocational training in future.'

The society hopes to repeat this early success with those who need help to cope with the stress and challenge of living with disability.

Previously, there was no service providing continuous counselling, case management and early access to resources and services after discharge from hospitals, said SPD's head social worker, Ms Lim Lutin.

At present, hospital staff can link a disabled patient to services offered by different voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs), depending on his needs.

But it is done on an ad hoc basis and, since there is no follow-up, there is no way of knowing whether the patient is using these services.

'Some have told us they would not have felt so lost if someone had followed through that journey with them,' said Ms Lim. Her team has come across cases where disabled people have shut themselves away from society for years because they do not know how to get help.

'We need to be there to motivate the client to think about what to do with his life after his disability, because life has not ended yet,' said Ms Lim.

Catching them when they are 'in transit' between hospital and home is critical because this is a difficult period of adjustment, when both the patient and caregiver need plenty of support, she said.

So the SPD will put in place a system whereby hospitals or VWOs can refer such cases directly to SPD for 'holistic' help.

If necessary, SPD will link the clients - mostly adults - to other services it offers, such as therapy or vocational training.

More networking is needed though.

Currently, just Tan Tock Seng Hospital Rehabilitation Centre in Ang Mo Kio has tied up with SPD. It connects patients to SPD's 'specialised case management programme' about a week before patients who suffer physical disabilities are due for discharge.

Since last October, when the pilot programme was rolled out, the team has seen about a quarter of its annual target of 400 patients.

The pilot programme was given $300,000 in funding, to last two years, from the National Council of Social Service.

Said Madam Ang: 'For poor folk like me, unable to read English, having a social worker show me how I can help my child help himself makes me happy.'

What if there was another solution?
What if you can get an income even if you are disabled?
What if your loved ones could get professional help?
Would it make a difference?

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