The FUTURE for Special Needs/Neurotypical / Neurodivergant with the vaccinations rollout and where do we go from here?

Disclaimer: I am not anti-vaxxer neither am I against the vaccinations but rather this is just my own perspective that concerns not only the special needs families who are affected but rather how it has caused a ripple effect on the entire ecosystem for the special needs community

Singapore was one of the first few countries to have rolled out the vaccinations drive on December 30th when the first priority were given to healthcare workers and frontliners. For a vaccine that just came about for a duration of less than 2 years, the rush for the rollout meant better protection for the frontliners as they were the first point of contact when it comes to being near COVID-19 patients. But the question is is it any better? Because mrNa vaccines are not exactly vaccines but rather quasi-vaccines - in an experiment conducted with animals such as ferrets, mice - it has shown that the animal trials for coronavirus vaccines have always failed because the animals got sick and died.

references: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0035421 - for experiment with ferrets

What exactly are MRNA vaccinations

• They are a newly available to the public
• They are given in the upper arm of the muscle
• The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are messenger RNA vaccines also called mRNA vaccine.

How do the vaccinations rollout affect the special needs children?

1. Unlike normal children, these special needs children require visual learning to be able to understand that they would be taking a jab therefore visual storytelling in pictorial form would be necessary
2. Role Play
3. Explain in advance through the process of the before and after shot

Why do we need to put our children with so much process when it can be avoided especially when their conditions are already paralysing them, by doing all these, we are instilling more fear for them and crippling them for making their own choices. By observations, parents of the special needs children are making the decision for them that they live in pain and PSTD after the shot. The trauma that's being recalled on the aftermath leads to the phobia for continuous shots in the future in which Singapore are in the midst of planning as the current shots are not effective in the protection for the vulnerable - Can we spare a thought for the voiceless such as the special needs? I think it takes the entire village to raise a special needs child, by putting them through this vaccination process again and again, we're just going to paralyse their condition further as long term studies for MRNA remains a mystery that even scientists cannot rule out the adverse reactions of side effects from sufferers who go through the effects.

I've spoken to some parents who've let their special needs children be jabbed and there's a mixed of reviews as different children react differently from the jabs - was told by a father that the Pfizer jab cause a brain fog which makes the child even more confused about the condition, and some parents are hesitant to take the children for a jab because they do not want their child to be put under so much trauma.

However is important that the caregiver seek advise from a health care professional before giving a child a shot but these have been taken for granted in the current setting as it's been said that the patients with chronic illnesses should receive the shot as they're more vulnerable to the viruses.

The problem is that Autism disorders are more sensitive towards the ingredients found in the vaccinations that parents do not seem to be aware of as autism in itself is a brain development condition that causes the cognitive function of the patient to behave in the lack of communication and repetitive behavioural patterns.

Heavy metals may cause an increase a greater risk for ASD and usually people with higher lead levels of development are the ones who suffer from ASD - as the ingredients for the vaccinations are still a mystery - and been said that graphene oxide which is heavy metal in the vaccine is one of the ingredient in the vaccinations - parents are not even worrying if the vaccinations are safe enough for their child but with the constant restrictions that's being put in place - employment for the special needs children require a shot to be able to sustain in the current landscape as in Singapore without a jab one would not be able to work.

As special needs children are usually vocation trained, they usually work for their families through small owned handicraft businesses as they're known for their motor skills and without constant income they depend on their handicraft skills to make a living. With the constant vaccinations that's being set in place, we're unsure if the jabs could further cause a deteoriation for the motor skills in the future as MRNA is jabbed on the upper arm of the shoulder - this can however affect the whole body if it's not jabbed correctly. This remains a worry because every body is different and with the current disorders like depression, anxiety, Down syndrome - there's a lack of research on how vaccinations can protect a much more vulnerable patient but as we can observe that it isn't happening right now as the vaccine that's being jabbed could just be a saline.

Vaccine confidence is something that revolves around the neurodivergant communities but how much confidence is needed for these neurodivergant patients to be assured that they would be okay after the jab as the barriers that can be seen in the neurodivergant communities follows :

• needle phobias, sensory sensitivities, or other anxieties
• mistrust in medical system
• socio economic barriers

What's lacking in a Singapore landscape for the special needs in Singapore for the neurodivergant communities?

• Education of needle phobias
• Tools such as communication strategies - as parents are the ones being a moral compass for their children as the government are not providing enough support for such vulnerable in the community - and resources is equivalent to more time and money being forked out for the process of understanding vaccinations better

Are we doing enough for them? is a question that is often poundered during this pandemic cause what is enough for them

While we can keep rolling out vaccinations, we've to look at long term sustainability as the stigma for the special needs remain at large especially for them who're not accepted in the society. Their main support system relies heavily on the organizations and families that are their no 1 supporters for them - but is the public immune to their behaviours that help cannot be extended further.

The future of the special needs remains a question for me because underlying factors such as adaptation, cognitive behavioural change and digital platforms are not fully endorsed properly without enough resources for support mechanism for the children to be able to independent on their own when more vaccinations roll out as they would still have to depend on their caregiver for physical support and mental resilience.

There's also a lack of physical contact as the lack of vacancies in student cares and homes and the lack of respite care for parents who have challenging children remains one of the root causes for caregiver burnout especially being with a challenging child for 365 days. With so much inadequacies in the problems, problem solving becomes prolonged due to the stigma that surrounds the disorders.

There are a lack of supervision and structure planning even for employment industries and yet the government thinks that we are " future ready" when in reality we're not - groundwork initiatives can be the key provider, education can be another form of campaigning but without immediate action, the cause remains a cause.

Educators like me can continue on this cause, but how long can we last - will the passion ever dies off once this pandemic dies. I would like to find out.