MINDS Singapore
Industry: Healthcare, Welfare/Charity
Work done: Writing 6 resource guidebooks for caregivers of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Notes: In 2015, MINDS (Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore) sought to create a series of guidebooks for caregivers and loved ones of those with intellectual disabilities. These books were aimed at allowing the caregivers to gain a better understanding of their loved ones’ condition and provide useful tips. Over a few months, I conducted interviews with healthcare and medical professionals, researched, and collated relevant viewpoints to aid me in crafting these 6 guidebooks.
Each of the 6 guidebooks were titled in reference to the medical professionals who developed these methodologies and tips. For instance, ‘Voices' was selected for the social workers who often were first point of contact for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and were most familiar with the intrinsic stories of their lives and that of their caregivers.
Though the tone of each guidebook was kept consistently warm and engaging, the text for each one was presented with a slight difference. ‘Voices’ was written in a Q&A type format to supplement the need of caregivers who would need quick answers on urgent problems and did not have the time to read through heavy content.
I also had the opportunity to interview some healthcare professionals who shared stories about their patients. I proposed the idea of turning some of these into case studies that would make the texts more engaging (as opposed to having to siphon through chunks of info), while letting caregivers know that they weren’t alone in their struggles.
One of the more challenging aspects of this project, apart from the tight timelines, was simplifying complex concepts and ‘medical speak’ for the everyday Singaporean.