What is the One Child One Skill project?
One Child One Skill is a volunteer project that sends pairs of tertiary students to homes to teach autistic children a skill over 8 one or one-and-a-half-hour sessions. Parents identify skills that they would like their autistic children to learn and volunteers choose the child they teach based on the stated skills and location. The aims of the One Child One Skill project are:
1. Help the autistic child learn a skill
2. Allow the caregiver respite
3. Enable student volunteers to understand autism better
What skills can autistic children learn through the One Child One Skill project?
Skills taught depend on the child’s learning needs. So far, parents have requested volunteers to teach skills like washing hands with soap, climbing stairs using alternate steps, cycling, playing board games etc.
How did the One Child One Skill start?
Since the publication of “Come into My World: 31 Stories of Autism in Singapore”, author Brenda Tan has been sharing her experience as mother of an autistic boy. On 28 May 2013, Brenda talked to a lecture group of psychology students at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Among the questions raised was a heart-warming one: how tertiary students could help families with autistic children. “Come teach our children,” was Brenda’s immediate response. Among the audience was lecturer Dr Juliet Choo, who expressed an interest to mobilize her students for such purpose. That night, Brenda sat down at the computer and conceptualized how this scheme could be implemented. The One Child One Skill project took off in September that year, and has been carried out periodically over the polytechnic’s semester breaks.
How can my school participate in this project?
The need for such help has always exceeded the supply of volunteers. If you would like to mobilise your students for the One Child One Skill project, Brenda is able to help you put such a scheme in place. Please contact Brenda Tan at brenda@come-into-my-world.com .