Organisation logo: 

 The Story of Wings Melaka

* Our Beginnings

Wings Melaka had its beginnings in early 1997 when a group of parents who themselves had children with special needs met together, hoping to start some services for children with developmental delays. This project became a reality in October 1998, when Wings Melaka launched the Early Intervention Programme.
 

Parents like Mrs. Yammy Ang & Dr. Lim Boon Hock who were the early founders are still sitting in the board of committee as Chairperson & Vice Chairman respectively.

* Our name
It is taken from the verse in the Bible:

Isaiah 40:31
“but those who hope in the LORD, will renew their strength,
they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.”

* Our mission
“Making a difference in the lives of children with special needs and their families by providing learning opportunities that will enable them to achieve their full potential”

* The Early Intervention programme
 - how do we do it?

The child must first be assessed by our teacher and have main problems like a developmental delay or learning disability like autism, Down Syndrome, ADD, ADHD, Slow Speech, Global Developmental Delay, etc. The teachers work with the parents to assess the child’s basic skills.

* The Early Intervention Programme
 

-  An Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is drawn up for each child. Every IEP is different as every child is unique & different with different levels of skills & abilities. A child’s IEP would be made up of skills that the child needs to learn from each of the 6 major categories in the curriculum.

Structure of the Curriculum includes the following 6 domains:
Reading, Writing & Early Number Skills
Gross Motor Skills
Language Development
Fine Motor Skills
Self Help Skills
Social Development

* The Early Intervention Programme
 
a) Gross motor skills – basically outdoor exercise involving the large muscle movements. Ex: jumping on the trampoline, walking on the beam, hopping from hula hoop rings, throwing a ball. On certain weeks, we will also have fun doing music & movement steps with them.

b) Reading, writing & early number skills – rote counting 1 to 5 /10, child counts and gives the correct answer when asked “How many/”,  writing alphabets, horizontal & vertical lines, reading simple story books or pointing to the correct picture, sorting, matching, etc.

   To improve on their fine motor skills which focuses primarily on the child’s ability to use his hands constructively and improve their eye-hand coordination, the child also learns how to complete a puzzle involving certain no. of pieces according to the child’s level, coloring, rolling a piece of dough & cutting it, threading, screwing & unscrewing, etc.

c) Art & Craft – we use the thematic approach during our teaching so there’s a different theme for every month, eg: musical instruments, vegetables, transportation, colours, family members. The craft that we prepare will also follow the theme for the month like finger printing on a picture of a tomato or shower puff painting on a large picture of a car. Other crafts are like making book marks, photo frames or even small gifts for their parents on Fathers or Mothers Day.

d) Music & story time – to assist in language development & social development. The teacher will share a story using various props and get the children involved by asking questions & letting them take turns to touch the items like different vegetables. During singing time, the children also learn how to put up their hands to choose the songs they like. This is usually the most enjoyable & fun time for all the children.

e) Snack time, swimming & water play – To develop their self-help skills, the children are taught how to wash their hands, take their share, eat, drink from a cup and share their food. Swimming or water play time is also a very exciting time for most children. Those who are not able to swim are encouraged just to sit & watch or play in the ball pool & go to the reading corner.

* Some important principles:

a) family-centred practice model – parental involvement is COMPULSORY. We only see child twice a week, so parents & family members must take responsibility on learning how to teach & help their child.

b) effective intervention strategies

c) behaviour management that emphasizes positive reinforcement

* The focus is not only on the child . . . It is also about empowering the family.
- We organize our Parents Support Group (PSG) meetings once every 2-3 months where we invite special speakers like experienced parents, doctors & other professionals to share, teach & equip our parents on various issues concerning their special needs children.

* Advocacy, Awareness & Networking

- Optimum use of minimum resources:   Resource Centre & Toy Library for parents
- Mobilising community resources: getting the support of private corporations, individuals, churches
- Sharing resources, expertise, ideas: working together with IPPM, Jabatan Kebajikan, Jabatan Pendidikan Khas, Malaysian Care, other NGOS, etc. Our teachers have to spend time observing and be trained first before they are allowed to teach. We do conduct in-house trainings or attend trainings, seminars & conferences to equip ourselves with the necessary skills to teach.

* Updates about Wings Melaka

School Age Program (SAP) started in 2007

Coffee sessions for parents since 2007

Other services like part-time Counsellor for parents & their families started in March 2008

10th Anniversary celebrated on 25th October, 2008 – Family Day & Fund Raising Concert.

Our ultimate goal is to see our children develop to his/her full potential, to become an adult living a life of self worth and dignity, fully participating in, and contributing to the society, just like any other individual.

Donation Method:

WINGS Melaka: Early Intervention Centre
   Contact Person: Abby Phua (Administrator)           TEL/FAX: +606 286 2926

BANK-IN: 
Account Name   : Wings Melaka
Bank Name        : Hong Leong Bank Berhad
Bank Address    : No. 345, Jalan Ong Kim Wee, 
                            75300 Melaka
Account No        : 02600150561
Swift Code         : HLBBMYKL

Please make out  CHEQUE/MONEY ORDER/DRAFT: 
to Wings Melaka OR send it to the following address: 

Wing Melaka
No 123, Jalan Taman Sinn 6
Ujong Pasir
75050 Melaka
Malaysia

(Kindly check out  www.wingsmelaka.org.my for further information)

Attachment: 

Letter of Appreciation from WINGS.