Lim Hong Huay: A mother built a community for caregivers of special needs kids

As a paediatrician, Dr Lim Hong Huay, 52, could tell that her first-born daughter, Marianne, was not hitting some of her developmental milestones when she was 18 months old.

- Elisha Tushara

The toddler had poor eye contact, spoke only a few single words, often cried and was irritable. When the family returned to Singapore from Britain, where they were residing, Dr Lim encountered a slew of challenges trying to get her daughter, who was three by then, the help she needed.

"It was a tough journey because at that time, the services were not comprehensive enough. And the awareness of autism in girls was not very high," said Dr Lim.

Marianne got diagnosed with autism only when she was 11.

Several years later, when her third child - Lucas - received the same diagnosis at the age of seven, Dr Lim decided to step away from her career at KK Women's and Children's Hospital in 2017 to focus on her children.

Today, she is the founder of CaringSG, a non-profit initiative that supports caregivers of persons with special needs. The organisation has grown from 1,000 members in its first year in 2020 to 5,000 at present.

Her goal is to provide comprehensive support to caregivers by connecting them to support groups and helpers in the community like grassroots organisations, and other social and health service partners.

They are also paired with caregiver volunteers and professional key workers who share resources, offer a listening ear, help them with improving their daily routines, and connect them with various agencies and ministries to ease their burdens.

Dr Lim is a finalist for the Singaporean of the Year award.

It was not easy for Dr Lim to leave her medical practice of 20 years.

By then, both her eldest and youngest children had enrolled in Pathlight School, which caters to those with autism. Her hope was that they could reintegrate into mainstream schools one day.