The Family Support Program at the UNC School of Social Work hosted a group of multidisciplinary early intervention professionals from the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore in June. The team included: Dr. Sylvia Choo, senior consultant/developmental pediatrician, Department of Child Development; Shujun Oh, psychologist, Department of Child Development; and Jasmine Lee, speech and language pathologist, Department of Child Development. The UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center hosted the team’s visit to the United States. Among the goals of the visit: to learn about the continuity of care for children across health, education and social services sectors so that professionals can work toward providing holistic, continued care and support to children and their caregivers in Singapore.
Barbara Leach, Family Support Program project coordinator, met with the team to describe U.S. policies and programs for individuals with disabilities, family-centered practices in services for families, and to share how the Family Support Network™ of North Carolina provides support for families with children who have special needs. Tamara Norris, clinical associate professor and director of the Family Support Program, arranged for the visitors to tour the Family Support Network™ of Central Carolina (FSN) and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Women’s Hospital of Greensboro, where the FSN of Central Carolina operates a program for families with infants in the NICU. The Greensboro FSN program is one of 11 regional programs affiliated with the Family Support Network™ University Office, a part of the Family Support Program. In addition, the group also toured the Family Support Network™ of Western N.C., at Mission Hospital in Asheville.