ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the development in services for persons with a disability has occurred over a few discrete phases each corresponding to shifting conceptualizations of disability. There are no studies providing an estimate of the prevalence of disabilities in Singapore. Service provision for persons with disabilities has its roots in antebellum Singapore under British rule. Special education services during the formative years of Singapore as a nation proliferated during this period, especially for children with intellectual disabilities. Progress notwithstanding, the education system in Singapore remains very much a dual system. There are three hostels in Singapore catering to those with intellectual and physical disabilities. There are eight homes in Singapore catering to those with intellectual and physical disabilities. Perhaps one characteristic of care for adults with disabilities in Singapore is the relatively affordable option of a live-in foreign domestic worker. A tenet of service provision for persons with disabilities in Singapore is the "many helping hands" approach.
