Association for Educationally Subnormal Children is formed

The Association for Educationally Subnormal Children (AESN) began in 1970 as an initiative by a group of parents to provide a special curriculum for children with an intelligence quotient between 50 and 70. At the time, such a curriculum was not available in mainstream schools or schools for children with severe intellectual disabilities. Two classes comprising a total of 20 children placed on a curriculum approximating that of mainstream schools commenced in the Church of St Peter.^[1] On 28 February 1976, this pioneering work in educating children with special needs officially became the Association for Educationally Subnormal Children (AESN), with Dixie Tan as its first president.^[2]

Before the National Council of Social Services began funding the AESN in 1984, the association was partially funded by community groups. It leveraged on three churches – Church of St Michael, Church of St Peter and Church of Our Lady Queen of Peace – using their premises to operate three schools. In 1977, the student enrolment of 90 was outgrowing the church facilities.^[3] The AESN then requested for disused schools from the Ministry of Education (MOE), as it was faster to retrofit these than to construct new buildings. The former premises of the Tanjong Katong Malay School on Arthur Road became AESN’s first school – Katong Special School – which opened in 1979 with an enrolment of 110 pupils. The school moved to a larger compound on La Salle Street in December 1991, and the Arthur Road site became the Arthur Road Training Centre (ARTC) where students could receive training and job placements.^[4]

In the decades after Katong Special School was established, the AESN established  two more primary schools – Chao Yang Special School (1982) and Jervois Special School (1990) – and one secondary school, Tanglin Special School  (2000). The ARTC was registered with the MOE in 1998, and it became known as the Delta Senior School catering to children between 16 and 18 years of age. Through these five schools, the AESN provided continual special education from primary to secondary levels.^[5]

Since its founding, the AESN’s goal had been to integrate subnormal children into society. The association aimed to produce independent adults who were self-sufficient, and would not burden their families or weigh on national welfare resources. Hence, the association provided critical support services alongside its academic curriculum. These include social work services (1978), psychological services (1981), the Singapore Special Olympics (1989; formed together with the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled) as well as speech and music therapy (1995).^[6]

To ensure that its students were employable, the AESN also ran a Centre for Adults (CFA), which was established in 1997. This had roots in the Vocational Training Centre that was started at Katong Special School in 1980. The CFA trains former AESN students and helps them find jobs, and thereafter monitors their employment through regular visits and counselling.^[7]

In May 2000, the AESN was officially renamed Association for Persons with Special Needs in order to avoid negative connotations.^[8] In 2004, the word “special” was removed from the names of the association’s schools, as the students did not want to be perceived as being different from their peers in mainstream schools.^[9]

References
1. Association for Persons with Special Needs. (2014). We were children once. Retrieved January 12, 2015, from Association for Persons with Special Needs website: http://www.apsn.org.sg/about-us/history/we-were-children-once/; ‘Set aside classes for ESN children’. (1985, November 25). The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Association’s officials. (1978, May 4). The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
3. Providing special training for slower kids. (1975, August 29). The Straits Times, p. 10, Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Association for Persons with Special Needs. (2014). About us: History. Retrieved January 12, 2015, from Association for Persons with Special Needs website: http://www.apsn.org.sg/about-us/; Ng, E. (1980, October 30). 200 on waiting list: Urgent need for second ESN school. The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. Association for Persons with Special Needs (2006). To nurture and to grow. In Special moments: Celebrating 30 years of special education. Singapore: The author. Call no.: RSING 371.9095957 SPE.
5. Association for Persons with Special Needs. (2014). To nurture and to grow. Retrieved January 12, 2015, from Association for Persons with Special Needs website: http://www.apsn.org.sg/about-us/history/to-nurture-and-to-grow/
6. The Straits Times, 29 Aug 1975, p. 10. Association for Persons with Special Needs 2014, About us: History; Association for Persons with Special Needs, 2006, To care and to give  – our professional services  & Thirty years on – our achievements so far; Five-nation sports for the disabled. (1990, May 8). The New Paper, p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
7. Ng, E. (1980, October 8). Assn looking for firms to train ESN youths. The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Association for Persons with Special Needs. (2014). Programmes. Centre for Adults. Retrieved January 12, 2015, from Association for Persons with Special Needs website: http://www.apsn.org.sg/schools/centre-for-adults/programmes/
8. Association for Persons with Special Needs, 2006, Foreword.
9. Association for Persons with Special Needs, 2014, To nurture and to grow.