The Post-18 Cliff
For many youths with autism in Singapore, life after 18 brings a sudden drop in structured support and services. Once they leave the safety net of special education school, the path to work and independence is unclear. Families call this the “post-18 cliff.”
The gaps are stark
Few Job Options
Most jobs are not built with youths who have social, communication, or sensory challenges in mind. Workplaces tend to be either too rigid or too demanding, with little flexibility or customisation. As a result, only a small fraction manage to access programmes or find meaningful employment.
Limited Pathways
Those with higher support needs typically turn to day activity centres or home-based intervention services. But spaces in adult disability programmes are scarce and costly, with waiting lists that can stretch from months to years. Many young adults end up at home with little to do, placing additional strain on families.
Social Isolation grows
Most graduates have limited social networks, having been in the special education system since childhood.
Families stretched
Caregivers juggle round-the-clock support while searching for ways to keep their youths engaged, active, and hopeful about the future — often with little respite.
The
bottom Line
Without tailored pathways, youths with autism risk being left out of the workforce. What’s urgently needed are structured, customisable programmes that provide hands-on job experience — and equip employers to welcome, include, and support them.
Singapore’s push for
inclusive work
2018/2019
28.2%
2022/2023
32.7%
Singapore is working to open more doors for persons with disabilities (PwDs) as part of its vision for a more inclusive society. Initiatives like the Open Door Programme, Enabling Employment Credit, and Enabling Mark encourage employers to hire inclusively and have helped raise the employment rate of PwDs aged 15–64 from 28.2% in 2018/2019 to 32.7% in 2022/2023.
To reach its 40% target by 2030, efforts focus on
Helping employers build
inclusive hiring practices
Creating short-term or gig opportunities for PwDs
Equipping job coaches to match individuals with roles
Learning by Doing
Kopi Teh Morning
Kopi Teh Morning (KTM) is a 9-month vocational programme by Ray of Hope, Flour Power, and Foundry that gives youths with autism hands-on experience in the F&B world. It helps them build practical skills, confidence, and independence — and gives families a little breathing space too.
grow at their own pace
The programme is centred on each young person, helping them grow at their own pace while learning the routines, etiquette, and teamwork needed in real workplaces.
Training
Learning coffee and tea preparation, and workplace etiquette with Flour Power
deployment
Gaining real-world experience at Foundry and corporate pop-ups
Job Coaching & Mentorship
Guidance for professional and emotional growth
Advocacy
Encouraging inclusive workplaces and showing what youths with autism can achieve
We aim to empower our students — and their families — to thrive in inclusive communities, with a focus on person-centred support in learning, work, and daily life
Sean
Jolin
Tyron
Sharlene
Alex
Mohan
Sean's story
From Meltdowns to
Morning Cups of Joy
At each Kopi Teh Morning pop-up, Sean greets customers with a grin and a thumbs-up. With people he knows, he sometimes presses his thumb to theirs — an endearing habit that signals connection and validation. Friendly and smiley, it’s hard to imagine the challenges the 29-year-old faced to get here.
Childhood Challenges
Diagnosed with PDD – NOS (pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified), now classified under autism at age 4, Sean was prone to frequent meltdowns and physical outbursts. To support him, his family moved to the United Kingdom for a more inclusive environment. Returning back to Singapore, they moved to Siglap to be near St Andrew’s Autism Centre and adapted their home in thoughtful ways: cupboards with no door handles, soft-closing doors and cupboards to prevent breakage, fixed chairs to stop him from rocking, timers around the house to help him manage routines, and full-length mirrors to teach self-awareness of his facial expressions and gestures.
His room looks like any other young man’s — a neatly arranged wardrobe, shelves of Star Wars and Marvel books, and a display of sports medals and trophies — but there are subtle touches like designed blackout curtains to block out light and reduce noise so as to sleep better and a space for morning meditative practices accommodate his needs.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, isolation heightened Sean’s frustration, sometimes leading to aggression. To help him cope, his mother, Suit Fong, a mindfulness practitioner and trainer, introduced self-regulation and emotional calming and resilience building exercises like simple pause measures, deep breathing, belly breathing, walking meditation, such as long evening walks at East Coast Park and in the neighborhood, and other related training.
Despite Sean being minimally verbal, she spoke with him, offered choices, and let him explore at his own pace — helping him grow more independent and raising awareness of self and others.
Kopi Teh Morning - A New Beginning
When Sean joined Kopi Teh Morning, a 9-month vocational programme by Ray of Hope, Flour Power, and Foundry, it was his very first micro-job training, a momentous step for him and his family, which felt both exciting and daunting. His family wondered if he could manage frontline F&B work.
With challenges in coordination, motor skills, and verbal communication and discomfort with large groups, Sean’s parents thought back-end work like horticulture might suit him better.
But Flour Power encouraged Sean to give it a try. To Suit Fong’s surprise, he passed the interview and completed the training, gaining hands-on experience preparing and serving coffee and tea.
“We weren’t sure he’d be ready for the front counter,” says Yeo Hiok Keat, chief executive of Flour Power. “But Sean surprised us — he picked up coffee preparation quickly, learned workplace etiquette, and engaged warmly with customers. His confidence grew with every interaction.”
Even now, he can become dysregulated or overwhelmed in crowded spaces, shifting back and forth or making loud noises. “Anyone can feel overwhelmed but the key is managing it. Sean is learning that step by step as KTM offers such great real-life opportunities for him to practice…We are eternally grateful,” Suit Fong reflects.
Growing Independence
Through KTM, Sean’s family has noticed a growing independence and social awareness, as well as an enhanced comfort and ability to connect with others. His mother observes that the many small tasks — preparing coffee and tea, following instructions, and interacting with strangers in different settings — have helped him engage more confidently with people in ways he hadn’t before.
“The biggest change was when Sean came to me and asked if I was proud of him,” she recalls. “The joy he showed in that moment came straight from the heart. His inner pure joy lasted into the next morning, and I remember thinking, ‘Wow, the sun is shining extra brightly today.’ That inner happiness from Sean— it’s not something you can measure, and it had nothing to do with me. I told myself, ‘This is a real gift.’ I found inner peace too”
Sean’s growth extends beyond the programme. He enjoys basketball, cycling, the gym, and word searches, often immersing himself in them for hours. His family is also growing independent living skills, leaving him at home alone with longer planned trips without him — most recently a holiday to see the Northern Lights — allowing him to navigate life on his own, testing his support system without his mother as main caregiver.
While the future remains open, his mother emphasises that the focus is to respect his choices, not give up and continue to build his resilience to face life challenges ahead.
“Sometimes we wonder, as we are aging, if we're ready for Sean-related new challenges?” she reflects. “For now, it’s about him choosing what he wants to do with options available, and us and other inclusive organisations supporting and preparing him along the way. So, let’s see how it goes.”
jolin's story
Finding Her First
Real Job, Step by Step
At a recent Kopi Teh Morning corporate pop-up, Jolin wheeled the coffee cart from table to table, carefully pouring hot tea and coffee into paper cups as office workers in crisp shirts hurried past. Soft-spoken by nature, she might once have shied away from such a bustling environment. But when one customer paused to chat, she met them with a small smile and a steady voice.
For the 23-year-old, who lives with autism, programmes like this have brought her into spaces she might never have entered. Yet the path has not been easy, as she now looks to find meaningful work.
Finding Her Footing
From a young age, Jolin attended mainstream schools, despite being diagnosed early with autism (PDD-NOS). She progressed from Anderson Primary, Mayflower Secondary to ITE College Central. School wasn’t always easy, as she had to learn to cope with a challenging mainstream curriculum, and learning to read social cues as a neurodivergent individual. Her poor balance meant she had to be chauffeured to and from school, and she often needed months to mentally map out new surroundings. Still, her classmates and teachers were generally supportive, and kindhearted peers helped her along.
While mainstream education sharpened Jolin’s academic skills, her vocational and independent living skills lagged behind. “As a mother, all my time was spent focusing on academic skills,” reflects her mother, Ivy.
Now that she has graduated, Jolin has found the transition into work especially hard.
Barriers to Employment
For young adults with special needs and limited fine motor skills, even small jobs can feel like navigating a maze. Fast-paced office work — with its constant multitasking and split-second decisions — can quickly overwhelm Jolin, so she needed a gentler, slower introduction to the workplace.
She’s tried several jobs and training programmes. At Bettr Barista, she did an internship, but heat sensitivity, physical discomfort, and low safety awareness made handling hot liquids or heavy items challenging. Even the simple act of her heart beating faster can trigger distress. Her tasks were limited to scanning, data entry, and spreadsheets instead of coffee preparation. Later, Jolin joined a sheltered workshop at THK Pan-Disability Centre @ Eunos. Hygiene and motor skill challenges — like tasks in farming and baking — meant she wasn’t considered suitable. Despite Ivy’s hopes, Jolin did not clear the probation stage.
Jolin also tried exploring the Employability & Employment Centre (E2C) by Autism Resource Centre (ARC) programme, undergoing job trials in sewing Peranakan beads, scanning documents, and warehouse work.
The journey has been emotionally taxing, leaving youths like Jolin with few options. Her mother notes that without tailored support, young adults with special needs often fall through the cracks of the job market.
Kopi Teh Morning: A Lifeline
Amid these struggles, a breakthrough came through Kopi Teh Morning, a vocational programme run by Ray of Hope, Flour Power, and Foundry. Ivy first heard about it through a parents’ WhatsApp group. “At that point, I was at my wits’ end,” she recalls. “When you’re drowning, anything that looks like a lifeline, you go for it.”
For Jolin, even tasks that most people take for granted need to be broken down into steps — cutting a sachet with scissors, carefully carrying a hot water flask, or pouring hot liquids. Wearing the uniform also posed challenges: the polo tee, apron, and spit guard felt tight and uncomfortable. She sometimes misses verbal instructions unless they’re written down, and occasionally edges toward meltdowns, expressing frustration with words like “boring.”
Yet with patient coaching and careful adjustments, she has surprised her mother. “For me, it’s a miracle to see her tie her apron by herself,” Ivy says. Flour Power’s trainers have been instrumental: “They are very patient, the trainer-to-client ratio is small, and they customise the support. They always speak in a loving tone, which is very important for Jolin not to get triggered.” Kitchen tools are designed for accessibility, and written scripts guide her speech and greetings.
“With Ray of Hope, they give me more than a ray of hope. They show me my child can earn, my child can work. I wasn’t able to find any place for Jolin to work in, but here she has her first real job,” Ivy adds. “Sometimes as parents, we think they can’t do it. But they prove us otherwise.”
Looking Ahead
Jolin has just been accepted into a six-week-long Train-and-Place (TnP) Programme at Singapore Institute of Hospitality, where she is currently receiving short-term, full-time job-relevant training for a career in the tourism and hospitality sector.
“I just want Jolin to have the chance to learn, gain confidence, and be gainfully employed — to earn her own upkeep and have a place in the world,” Ivy says.
Outside KTM, Jolin continues to build independent living skills. She recently attended a 3-day, 2-night residential camp organised by ARC Learning Academy, where she learned to cook simple meals, manage money, and keep her own room. She is also being trained to travel independently on fixed public transport routes, use PayNow and ATM cards, and cook at home.
Despite her weaker motor skills, she has tried sailing, bowling and rock-climbing, thanks to inclusive activities organised by various organisations (CaringSG, SDSC, Enabling Services Hub, Running Hour). Through the NCSF Uplift Programme with a one-to-one volunteer gym trainer, she is also strengthening her motor skills.
“She may take a longer time, but we just continue to give her more exposure and opportunities,” Ivy reflects. “Everything is possible — we just need to believe in her.”
Bridging the Post-18 Cliff
How Ray of Hope is Opening Corporate Doors for Youths with Disabilities
Every office has a pantry. Coffee machines hum, snack jars clatter, and employees drift by for a quick break. But what if that ordinary space could become a hub for social impact? That was the idea behind Kopi Teh Morning (KTM), a programme that transforms corporate offices into temporary “community centres” for youths with disabilities. By opening their doors, corporate partners offer a safe, structured environment where these young people can learn, engage, and practice real-world skills.
For the youths themselves, the stakes are high. Leaving school at 18 often means stepping off what advocates call the “post-18 cliff.” Structured lessons and predictable routines vanish, replaced by uncertainty, leaving many struggling to find purpose, social engagement, or employment. It was this gap that motivated Ray of Hope to launch KTM, connecting young graduates of special education schools with corporates ready to make a difference.
Ray of Hope serves vulnerable individuals with emerging needs who may not be eligible for other support schemes. Dr Alicia Altorfer-Ong, executive director of the charity, recalls the spark of the initiative. “Seeing this gap firsthand, we wanted to do something,” she said. “It felt providential that we had a conversation with Tolarum, a corporate partner eager to make a difference. That first pilot, with three youths, showed us it could work—and also gave us a way to introduce Ray of Hope to other corporates.”
The pilot programme began in December 2023. “What always surprised me was that at each session, a new skill would be learned or practiced. Each session brought small wins,” said Dr Altorfer-Ong. She cited how a youth who previously struggled with certain micro movements improved by the next session. One who wore noise-cancelling headphones gradually removed them, navigating sensory challenges with pride. Another, who had meltdowns early on, became more self-directed and comfortable later.
The programme also offered caregivers a much-needed respite. “The feedback from them was incredibly affirming,” Dr Altorfer-Ong said. “Many realised their children had capabilities and resilience they hadn’t fully appreciated.”
The initial success encouraged Ray of Hope to expand. In 2024, the programme grew to six youths and included four corporate partners. Continuous feedback from caregivers and corporates informed improvements, reinforcing the initiative’s value. “It’s a learning journey for everyone,” said Dr Altorfer-Ong. “The youths discover their limits and push past them. Corporates learn how to create inclusive, supportive environments. And we, as organisers, learn what scaffolding each youth needs to thrive.”
A key enabler for corporates is the Foundry Forward Fund, which subsidises costs and lowers barriers to participation. That allows the programme to pay youths a small hourly wage of $10—often the first the salary they receive—showing that their time and effort are valued.
Flour Power plays a critical role in preparing the youths. CEO Yeo Hiok Keat explained, “We train them on vocational skills like food safety, equipment handling, and following processes. We also guide them in social interaction—introducing themselves, serving others, and gaining confidence in articulating their thoughts. We push them, stretch them, and see how far they can grow as a person.”
The impact is measured in small but meaningful ways. Jolin, a current participant, was initially afraid of handling heat, but gained confidence preparing tea and coffee for corporate guests. “
Ray of Hope hopes to expand KTM further, aiming to involve 50–60 participants by 2026. While the programme currently serves a small number of graduates from special schools, it demonstrates how micro-gigs can act as stepping stones to more advanced opportunities such as workplace placements or training.
KTM is proof that collaboration can turn silent challenges into meaningful opportunities. “My sensing is the need and the demand is very much higher than the supply of these roles,” said Dr Altorfer-Ong. “We have to be intentional and prepared to put in resources to create the kind of community, future, and alternate pathways for youths—and for the broader community—we want to see out there.” Not just helping youths gain skills, Ray of Hope is showing that inclusion is possible, one office pantry at a time.
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