Recently we had registered C for EIPIC programme with special school. The waiting period for a placement was typically between 6 months to 1 year. This decision came after our futile search for a home-based teacher. Placing him in a special school was not what I had in mind but the chances of a preschool taking him in was low. Nevertheless, I had not given up yet thus the hunt for a school within close proximity. Locating a preschool accessible by his power chair meant winning half the war. All I needed to do next was to convince the principal.
Starting point: Punggol Field Walk
Destination: 121 Edgedale Plains
Foreseeable challenges: Pedestrian crossing, curbs
Potential roadblock: Unknown as this was an unexplored new estate.
Ease of accessibility: 4 out of 5. Levelled pathway from point to point.
Sheltered from point to point: 1 out of 5. The entire route from basketball court to pedestrian crossing to drop-off point at Edgedale Plains was not sheltered. At Edgedale, we took the unsheltered garden pathway as well instead of going from block to block (unsure if the blocks were linked and if there were curbs), this was a direct route to site.
Facilities for stopovers (diaper change/milk feeds): New housing estate with no nearby amenities/facilities. Plenty of benches at the playground and garden though.
Crowd observation: Friendly and helpful. A group of youths at the park smiled, commented C was cute. I was approached by a foreign worker at the pedestrian crossing, asked if I needed help crossing the road with C. On our way back home, another boy admired his power chair and remarked C looked super relaxed on his chair.
My 3yo's opinion: Scary to cross the road and some places were bumpy because of the road surface.
What I think: It was stressful helping C cross the road. I had to steer his chair, watch over him and the traffic at same time. The countdown for the pedestrian crossing was short (IF I remembered correctly it was 30 seconds or less. Would verify again). We drove on 2nd gear and made it across just in time. Temporary pathway next to the construction site was slightly narrow, too near the road and cars. Apart from the pedestrian crossing, we were required to cut through a driveway (with 2-way traffic) and a drop-off point to the estate. Needed to stay full alert watching out for vehicles coming from different directions. The new estate was a mosquito breeding ground too. We were brutally attacked and came home with numerous huge swells.
Overall experience: 3 out of 5
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