Asian Resource Center
Asian Federation on Intellectual Disabilities

Kaoru Star Raft Award 2021
星槎賞The winners
Japan-Korea ID Sports Exchange Program
ALL Nippon ID Sport Association, JAPAN
Gift for an inclusive society; Empowering through school andcommunity collaboration Singapore
APSN Delta Senior School- Literacy Department"Kaibigan Ko Sila Movement" ("They Are My Friends Movement")
An inclusion program spearheaded by St. Philomena School which aims
to have the students with special needs advocate for themselves in andbeyond their community.
St. Philomena School: Kids’ Comfort Zone Inc. PhilippinesNovember, 2021

What does “Seisa/ Star Raft”?
There is an old Chinese story. A young man in a period under strict national isolation dared togo out and see the world. When he returned he saved his country with the knowledge and experiencehe gained abroad. It is said that his raft arose from the sea and traveled across the sky. A raft oflogs of different lengths tied together with a strong rope. The word “Seisa” is composed of two
Chinese characters, “Sei” is the “Star” character. “Sa” is the “raft” character.
It is hope of Seisa Group to be your Raft with the spirit of “Living Together”.

Japan-Korea ID Sports Exchange Program
ALL Nippon ID Sport Association, JAPANThe purpose of this project is to promote international cooperation and exchange
through sports by developing ID sports* in cooperation between Japan and Korea.
And this program emphasizes not only the improvement of skills but also theunderstanding of each other's countries and exchange in a broader sense.
Therefore, this program not only focuses on competition, but also on experiencing
the culture of each other's country.
What we place particular importance on is the clear separation between sports andpolitics.
As a result, we have been able to hold three evets so far through the efforts of bothcountries, despite some very difficult political times. Another feature is that we visit
each other's countries every year for exchanges.
However, the 4th event could not be held due to Covid-19 (2020).
Therefore, both countries have promised to hold the 4th event when the threat ofCovid-19 is gone.
There are five specific sports that are being conducted.
These are athletics, swimming, table tennis, basketball, and soccer. However, dueto travel expenses, we are not always able to offer these five sports. Also, in bothcountries, we are not targeting top athletes, but rather young athletes who areexpected to be active in the future. In the future, we are considering sending judo
athletes in addition to these five sports.
We are also making efforts to train coaches. In each sport, we share information
among coaches so that they can help each other improve.
At the third event held in 2019, we also interacted with junior high school students
from Higashikurume City (track and field team) and the local table tennis federation(senior citizens). In addition, swimming was allowed to participate in a special
official domestic competition and had a great race with Japanese athletes.
A total of 29 people from the Korean side (6 staff, 23 coaches and athletes (8 tabletennis, 2 track and field, 13 swimming)) visited Japan and completed the entire 5-dayprogram.
*ID Sports: intellectual disability SportsGift for an inclusive society; Empowering through school andcommunity collaboration Singapore
APSN Delta Senior School- Literacy Department
There is an underlying gap between students in the mainstream schools andspecial education (SPED) schools. Most of the SPED students lack the opportunity tointeract with their neurotypically developing peers in mainstream society. These
opportunities and contact are important elements for the growth of a SPED student
to provide socio-emotional development. APSN Delta Senior School (APSN DSS) saw
the need to bridge the gap for our students, to ease their transition to the workforce
by creating opportunities for them to interact with the mainstream society throughmeaningful collaborations.
There are many mainstreams school that are interested in raising awareness ofsocial inclusion of SPED students so that it helps to increase mainstream students'
empathy towards them. This helps our students to practice essential social
communication skills which will assist them in their integration into the mainstream
society.
The Literacy Department at APSN DSS strongly believe that interactions withmainstream students and the general public will create opportunity for SPED
students to increase their confidence and exposure to the mainstream society. Suchcollaborations also encourage positive attitude towards individuals with special
needs and could change the attitude of students from mainstream schools. Echoing
the same sentiments, speaking during the motion on the future of Singapore’seducation system in Parliament, Nominated Member of Parliament (MP) Chia Yong
Yong, was driving home the point that special education schools and mainstream
schools should be encouraged to work together to allow children with disabilities or
special needs a chance to “ develop their potential, thrive in the same environment
as their peers and participate effectively as members of our society”．
Wong, P.T (2018, July 12). MPs call for integration of special-needs andmainstream student. today. https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mps-callintegration-special-needs-and-mainstream-students.
Literacy teachers at APSN DSS sought out schools and communities who are open
and interested for their students to be exposed to students with special needs andwho are willing to impart certain skills and knowledge. The team believed strongly inworking with the community to nurture our students in various language
programmes in order for our students to meet the demands of 21st century skills, andto promote inclusiveness. Several mainstream schools came on board working on
various contributions and collaborative work on language arts and social skills.
The main and primary objectives in collaborating with mainstream schools andcommunity were:•Social and Interpersonal Skills: To provide opportunities for students fromdifferent backgrounds to interact and work together with a common goal
•Adaptability and Flexibility Skills: To encourage students to step out of their
comfort zones to work with students with different learning needs andbackgrounds•Creative and Critical Thinking Skills: To provide opportunities for students tobrainstorm more creative ways that could be used to express themselves
When SPED students are exposed to authentic collaborations with the community
groups, it creates support for learning and accelerates the learning curve for personal
growth for our students. Our students at APSN DSS benefitted through an integrated
approach to learning. They make meaningful connections to learning whenopportunities are created for them to:The results were encouraging and the objectives were met through meaningful
collaboration
with various education stakeholders in the areas of drama, monologue, signlanguage, reading programme, community library externship and even our students
hosting guests from the mainstream society. The collaborations are ongoing andhopes to reach all-new heights with the continued innovative ideas for the benefit of
SPED students.

"Kaibigan Ko Sila Movement" ("They Are My Friends Movement")
An inclusion program spearheaded by St. Philomena School which aims
to have the students with special needs advocate for themselves in andbeyond their community.
St. Philomena School: Kids’ Comfort Zone Inc. Philippines
When St. Philomena School was brought to conception, the founders were driven bya purpose to offer quality educational services to children with disabilities.
Established in 2008, the school started as a “pro-bono” private SpEd center. Becauseof the lack of centers offering special education services, an application for permit tooperate as a school was then tendered. Today, it is government recognized andthriving institute catering to students with diverse needs like autism, ADHD, DS andintellectual disability, as well as neurotypical students.
True to its core, St. Philomena School does not only provide educational services
but also advocates for inclusion. Initiating the Kaibigan Ko Sila Movement (KKSM),
the school together with its advocacy partners agreed to take the responsibility tocreate equitable opportunities for these children to be included in the community.
Translated, “Kaibigan Ko Sila” means “They are my friends”. This is anchored on
the vison, mission and core values of the school to develop self-determined students
by creating opportunities for them to advocate for themselves.
This school initiative can be categorized into:
1. SELF-ADVOCACY & COMMUNITY-BASED INSTRUCTION
The school’s advocacy is not confined within the four walls of the classroom orwithin the premises of its campus. Its cause extends to the outside world aiming forthese children to become self-determined, and be part of the intentional andpurposive cause of real INCLUSION.
Most often, when we meet and see a person with disability, we tend tooverindulged, hover, and "overhelp" them, robbing them of the learning opportunity
to use their acquired skills.
Awareness, acceptance and understanding are what most PWD organizations rally
for and we are one with them all but we also chose to take it a step further by having
our students use their own voice and become the very faces of the advocacies theystand for. We do not wait for invitation; we are the ones who invite others tocollaborate. We do not only ask for acceptance, we make platforms for our students toshowcase themselves not to be seen as “differently-abled that needs acceptance” but
as “someone who has abilities, weaknesses and strengths just like everyone”.
Different, but certainly NOT less.
We cultivate compassion and kindness in our school and spread it like wildfire
through the KKSM.

➔ Kaibigan Ko Sila Movement Projects
o Inter-school Competitions and Programso Public Commutingo Grocery and Dining ino Social gatheringo University Fairs
o Conferenceso Motorcadeso Guesting in eventso Magazine Interviewso Community Drive Participationo Student Council Projectsrich and empower our students to express confidently.
2. HIGHLY INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM➔ iLEARN- Individualized Learning-Enriched and Academic Rearing andNurturing Programo SpEd Program with accommodations, modifications and adaptations
o General Education Program➔ *iSAID - Individualized Supplemental Academic Intervention Design➔ *iCLAP-Individualized Communication and Language Augmentative
Program➔ *iRISE - Individualized Resource for Independent Skills Enhancement*Programs which aim to teach developmentally appropriate and evidence-based
intervention strategies through achieving:o IEP goals and objectiveso grade level expectations
o targeted proficiency and mastery level