Society for the Promotion of ADHD Research & Knowledge
President’s Report for the Year 2003
The Society made further progress in creating ADHD awareness in the community in the year 2003 through the following activities :

1. ADHD Awareness Talks
Ms Cheng Kah Kee continued her talks to Primary Schools on “Managing the ADHD Child in class : A teacher-parent collaboration”. She gave talks to 12 schools in 2003 (please see Appendix 1).
In addition the following talks on ADHD were also given in the past year :
a) “Understanding ADHD” to NIE Master Students by Ms Cheng Kah Kee
(April 2003)
b) “Understanding ADHD” to SINDA by Ms Cheng Kah Kee (July 2003)
c) “Parenting a ADHD Child” to IMH by Ms Cheng Kah Kee (Oct 2003)
d) “What is ADHD” to DAS In-Service teachers by Dr Ng Koon Hock (Oct 2003)
e) “Understanding ADHD and Managing ADHD Children in class” to NIE Advanced Diploma teachers by Mrs Christine Keung (Oct 2003)

2. Sale of CD on “Managing the ADHD Child in Class” and the ADHD Handbook for Parents, Care-givers and Teachers
Awareness and education of ADHD amongst teachers and parents were boosted by the Society’s sale of the CD for teachers and the ADHD Handbook throughout the year.

3. SPARK Newsletter
The SPARK Newsletter finally got off the ground in July 2003 through the joint efforts of our Hon Secretary Edmund Wee and Mr Lee Swee Huat. Edmund designed and produced the Newsletter with contribution of articles written up by Swee Huat. Two issues of the Newsletter (July and October) were released in the 2nd half of 2003. The Newsletter now forms part of our publicity material on the Society and ADHD.Parent Support Group (PSG) Meetings
The monthly meeting of the Parent Support Group at Child Guidance Clinic on the 1st Saturday afternoon (2-5pm) continues to be a major activity of the Society. This meeting offers a forum for parents (especially new parents joining SPARK) to interact with one another and share information and tips with regards to management of their ADHD children. The group also gives one another moral support and encouragement. External speakers are typically invited for these meetings to speak on topics of interest to the parent group in the management and treatment of ADHD children.

The PSG meetings were suspended for the months of April to June in 2003 due to SARS. Highlights of Speakers for 2003 include :

Jan 03 - “Succeeding with ADD/ADHD”, by Mr Adrian Tan, CEO of AD Planet Group

Mar 03 - "Creative Parenting – Ideas that work", by Mr Kwok Chow Thim

July 03 - “Nutrition Needs of ADD/ADHD children (using Hair Analysis)” by Dr Kenneth Kang, Neurofeedback Therapist & Natural Health Practioner

Aug 03 - “How To Help Increase A Child’s Attention Span” by Norman Tien

Nov 03 - “EEG Intervention for ADHD” a proposed research project on Neurofeedback by Dr Ang Kai Ling of NIE

Dec 03 - “William Pelham's Summer Treatment Programme for ADD/ADHD” a talk by Ms Poon Siew Win, Chartered Educational Psychologist and Director of Poon & AssociatesJoining National Council of Social Services (NCSS)

We applied for membership of NCSS in July 2003 and SPARK was admitted as a full member of NCSS on 18 Aug 2003. We then applied to Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore for registration of SPARK as a charity organization, and this application is pending the amendment of some aspects of our Constitution as required by IRAS for all charities. The amendments for the Constitution will be proposed for the AGM in March 2004.

Plans for 2004 and Beyond
Going forward SPARK should now go beyond creating awareness for ADHD into helping to address ADHD children’s needs, in the areas of diagnosis and treatments. The Society will look into areas of collaboration with the other organizations and research bodies supporting special needs for mutual benefit.

To give the Society more structure and to facilitate growth, we would like to set up an office (Secretariat) in 2004 to deal with administration of the society, and to organize activities, including fund-raising. We need volunteers coming forward to help the Society in various ways. What SPARK can achieve for our ADHD community depends on each and every one of us.

Reported by : Bella Chin (Mrs)
SPARK President, 2003– Mar 2004
10 Feb 2004

ADHD Talk for Schools in 2003:
“Managing the ADHD Child in Class, a Teacher-Parent Collaboration” by Ms Cheng Kah

16 Jan 2003 North View Primary (2nd talk)
20 Feb 2003 South View Primary
26 Feb 2003 Tg Katong Primary
27 Feb 2003 River Valley Primary
1 Mar 2003 Chongzheng Primary
5 Mar 2003 Meridian Primary
16 Jun 2003 Radin Mas Primary
26 Jun 2003 Hong Wen Primary
2 Jul 2003 Farrer Park Primary
1 Aug 2003 Bedok North Primary (2nd Talk)
17 Sep 2003 Northland Primary
24 Sep 2003 Ahmad Ibrahim Primary