Community living has been the wish of many parents for their children with disabilities, and progress is being made towards that end. At the recent opening of SG Enable’s Vista in December 2025, PM Lawrence Wong announced the inter-agency Taskforce for Families with Persons with Disabilities, which will “study and develop recommendations in three areas: employment, community living and affordability” and slated to make these recommendations in 2026.
While St. Andrew’s Autism Centre (SAAC) operates St. Andrew’s Adult Home – Singapore’s only purpose-built residential facility for persons with autism – we are constantly pondering about alternatives to the traditional institutional setting, and consider supported living in the community to be the ideal model for most persons with autism and other disabilities (perhaps with the exception of those with the most severe needs); participating in the ELP as The LIGHT House @ Woodlands is one of the ways SAAC is developing towards this ideal.
“Persons with disabilities are just like any of us – they have dreams, aspirations and hope for their future, and independent living is just one facet of it”, said Hezekiah Lim, SAAC’s ELP Programme Manager.
Getting ready for our residents
As part of the ELP pilot, SAAC was provided with 2-room HDB flats in the Woodlands area specifically to serve persons with autism and intellectual disability – and the autonomy to furnish and equip it for the residents.
Each unit comes with a twin-sharing room, a living room and a fully equipped kitchen/laundry area.
“It was a painstaking process where the team measured every wall and fixture within the flat to ensure we could utilize the space as well as possible; there were multiple brainstorming sessions and layout iterations to ensure it supported the needs of our clients, and each piece of furniture was scrutinized and chosen by the team personally. At the end of the day, we asked ourselves a simple question, would we live here? And we can thankfully say yes!”
Not just a house
Beyond the facilities, our future residents with autism and intellectual disability may often find themselves faced with issues in areas such as social interaction, scam prevention and financial management, among other things. With on-site support and individualised skills coaching and guidance provided, they would be able to rely on our training officers to coach and guide them on such matters.
SAAC Training Officer Mohamad Azmi knows it’s not easy to take the first step, but hopes that persons with disabilities can feel comfortable and safe coming on board the ELP.
“I hope that they will find the courage to take this leap of faith by enrolling in the programme… We have invested significant thought and careful planning, with the goal of helping future residents transition to independent living confidently, smoothly and successfully.”
Hezekiah adds, “we want our residents to feel that sense of satisfaction with themselves and what they’ve accomplished – when eating a meal you prepared for yourself; seeing glistening windows and feeling the clean floors after doing your chores; smelling the fresh sheets you picked out and changed; sitting down on the couch after a long day of work and thinking, ‘I’m home’.
“There is dignity in being able to live independently.“
If you are interested in signing up for The LIGHT House @ Woodlands, or know anyone with autism or intellectual disability who might be interested or in need of this service, do email [email protected] and we will be happy to share more about the ELP with you, or guide you with the registration process.
If you’d like to support persons with autism and their education, you can do so by:
Volunteering with SAAC
You can give the gift of your talents and time by volunteering. We welcome those with a heart to serve.
Donating to our programmes
Help us provide persons with autism with highly structured programmes and give respite to their caregivers.
Advocating for Autism
Those on the autism spectrum are often misunderstood and excluded from the public eye. Mention us to friends & family.
