Year in Review

President's Message

I write in gratitude and thanksgiving for the successful completion of another year of service to the autism community.

The prolonged Covid-19 pandemic has impacted us in more ways that the ARC leaders can imagine - in the way we develop, deliver and sustain our services. Our amazing staff, beneficiaries and their families persevered and rose to the occasion to ensure that we met the operating challenges that confront us.

ARC impacted thousands of lives, directly and indirectly, through a range of core services from early intervention, special education, autism training and consultancy, employment services and livelihood provision through our social enterprises.

We strive to become a people and organisation, like no other, to positively make a difference in all we embark on.

We embarked on building on our internal capabilities through a structured leadership training programme for all our key staff. All staff undergo a series of personal, interpersonal, supervisory and organisational leadership trainings as part of their development. 66 senior staff also completed a specially curated year-long management cum leadership programme in the past year. More will be trained in the months ahead. This will ensure we have the needed management bench breadth and depth.

We continue to play our role in plugging the pivotal needs and gaps identified in the national Autism Enabling Masterplan which we helped to craft.

The team has begun work on two of the key priorities listed in the Masterplan; namely, the Life After Death Playbook for caregivers and Residential Training and Living continuum for adults on the autism spectrum. More details will be unveiled when it is ready.

The work ahead is not easy; especially in spaces that are uncharted. We look forward to serving with more partners to build solutions that will transform lives for the better.

I want to specially thank all our board members, staff, donors, government and funding agencies, employer partners, volunteers and many others who care enough to walk this journey with us. Without you, we can achieve nothing.

Please accept my sincere appreciation and deep gratitude.

Thank you.

 

Denise Phua Lay Peng
For and on behalf of
Management Committee
Autism Resource Centre (Singapore)

August 2022