History
HAND IN HAND
History about Hand in Hand
Hand In Hand OTC is a private occupational therapy centre that provides family-centred occupational therapy services for both local and overseas individuals aged 0- to 18- years old and their families.
With the vision that occupational therapy is beyond providing treatment in a therapy room, Jeanette Suen, Occupational Therapist, set up this centre in 1998. She believes in the involvement and support from the family in effecting positive changes in the children. It was the first of its kind when it was initially set up.
Vision
Parents and professionals work hand in hand for an occupationally just world for all children to live happily and meaningfully.
Back in the late 90s
the use of sensorimotor activities (e.g. swinging, climbing, crashing, etc.) in occupational therapy programmes was rare. Equipment for such activities (e.g. swings, high-density foam mats, crash cushions, etc.) was not available locally.
As such equipment pieces are heavy and require regular maintenance, having local suppliers is deemed necessary. Jeanette, with the full support from her husband, Gregory, sourced local companies to make the equipment and to set up the therapy rooms as needed. Some of these companies have become homegrown brands for sensorimotor equipment over the years.
In its first year
Jeanette worked as the sole therapist, seeing clients mostly with autism. On seeing the needs of having a variety of therapy programmes to cater to the various needs of the clients and families, she began to build a team of occupational therapists of like minds. To ensure quality services, she prefers to keep the team small so that there are plenty of opportunities for the team members to interact and learn from one another. Furthermore, she believes a therapist’s understanding of the local culture makes a major difference in the development and delivery of the intervention programmes. In all these years, she keeps the team to about five to six occupational therapists, preferably with local training and/or with local experience.
To provide quality family-centred occupational therapy services and to promote knowledge of occupational therapy so as to enable and empower our clients to be successful in their jobs of daily living.
Mission
Since 2018
Since 2018, Jeanette brings onboard Jasmine and Fadhilah whose expertise focuses strongly on the clients’ active participation within their communities. Home visits and/or school-based observations are provided to assess their physical environments and identify the potential barriers which impedes their participation within the community. Non-affiliated programs such as inclusive school at the 2 preschools and Bridging Talents have supported the therapy program to provide in-house speech therapy programs, inclusive learning within a formal educational setting, as well as continued education to equip both therapists and caregivers in caring for the clients’ struggles and quality of life.