Practitioner Certificate Programme: Special Needs Educational Therapist (ONLINE)
This programme qualifies trainees who have met all requirements of the International Association of Counselors & Therapists (IACT) for admission as qualified special needs educational therapists. Unlike traditional teaching, which focuses primarily on academics, educational therapy addresses both academic content and how an individual processes information.
Educational therapy appears as procedure code 93.82 (“Educational therapy”) in the ICD-9-CM Volume 3 (the U.S. clinical modification of the WHO’s ICD-9), under rehabilitation and related procedures. It is a specialised, individualised approach for addressing a wide range of learning difficulties, disorders, differences and deficits.
Individuals with learning differences and difficulties may find it challenging to learn in conventional settings, as they may process information uniquely due to emotional, cognitive, neurological, or physical disabilities and disorders. An educational therapist conducts comprehensive differential, functional and educational assessments to understand each individual’s learning challenges and delivers a wide range of individualised, intensive educational interventions and therapy procedures tailored to the individual. These assessments are educational in nature and do not constitute medical or psychiatric diagnosis unless the practitioner holds additional qualifications that specifically permit them to do so.
IACT is the largest and most prestigious professional body of its kind, based in the USA, admitting individuals who have fulfilled the rigorous requirements of its Practitioner Certificate programmes. Membership is a mark of high standards and excellence. Practising members are clinically skilled, bound by high ethical standards, and widely respected. They are eligible to practise many countries across North America, Asia, Europe, and beyond.
IACT’s Practitioner Certificate comprises three tiers: Credentialed, Registered and Board-certified, with Board-certified members holding the highest status. These tiers correspond to the following professional role titles used by the Association of Educational Therapists Singapore (AETS):
• Credentialed → Associate
• Registered → Professional
• Board-certified → Fellow
For the detailed professional scope and responsibilities for each membership tier, please refer to the AETS Scope of Practice.
As required by IACT, all coursework, assignments, and essays must be supervised and verified by an IACT-approved instructor and submitted to IACT’s Assessment Board for final assessment. Merlion Academy is authorised to supervise and verify trainees’ work in support of their IACT membership applications, with additional support provided by the IACT Singapore and Malaysia chapters. Upon completing the programme and fulfilling the Credentialed tier requirements, trainees are eligible for full membership with the AETS as an Educational Therapist.
Admissions are conducted on a rolling basis and may commence at any time.
Module Exemptions and the AETS Conversion Pathway
If you hold a relevant Master’s degree or PhD from a recognised university (e.g. in Psychology, Counselling, Special Education, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language Therapy, Social Work, or related allied-health fields), you may be exempted from some of the modules in the Credentialed tier and provided reduced submission requirements for full membership with the AETS.
Eligibility and the exact modules required depend on your specific qualification. Please refer to the AETS’ official Conversion Pathway. You may email your CV, academic transcripts/credentials and professional licensure (if any) to membership.admission@aet.sg for an individual evaluation before enrolling.
The required SNET modules are delivered by Merlion Academy. Once you know which modules apply to you, you may enrol for those specific modules only.
Course Modules:
- Module 1: Introduction to Educational Therapy
- Module 2: Lifespan Human Development (From Birth to Late Adolescence)
- Module 3: Nosology of Disabilities & Disorders
- Module 4: Introduction to the 3 Praxes in Educational Therapy
- Module 5: Screening through Assessment to Intervention
- Module 1: Advanced Nosology of Disabilities & Disorders
- Module 2: Screening and Assessment Tools in Educational Therapy
- Module 3: Introduction to Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) Theory
- Module 4: Advanced Praxis 1: Core Basic Skills
- Module 5: Advanced Praxis 3: Sensory, Adaptive & Socio-Emotional Behavioural Skills
- Module 1: Design of an Individualised Therapy Programme
- Module 2: Design of an Individualised Education Plan
- Module 3: Design of a 504 Plan
- Module 4: Case Review & Evaluation in Educational Therapy
- Module 5: Case Studies in Educational Therapy
Assessment:
1. Assessment is assignment based, mainly publication of journal articles.
2. Lesson hours: 30 hours per module (150 hours per tier). Attendance of at least 80% per module is required.
Practicum:
220 hours of internship under clinical supervision at a counselling center, therapy clinic, school or hospital would be required at the completion of Registered tier.
Duration:
Approximately 8 months per tier
Entry Requirements:
(Holders of relevant Master’s/PhD degrees may qualify for module exemptions under the AETS Conversion Pathway. See details above.)
Age
21 years and above
Minimum qualification
i. Bachelor’s degree in any discipline; or
ii. Relevant diploma in teaching, special education, educational therapy, counselling, social work, nursing, psychology etc.
English requirement
1. IELTS 6.5 (reading and writing must be at 6.5); or
2. A grade of B3 in English Language paper at GCE Ordinary Level; or
3. Equivalent (Pearson English Test, TOEFL).
Course Fees:
(Non-refundable one-time application fee of SGD 95.00 is payable upon application. Fees are charged per module. Modules exempted from are not charged. No GST required.)
Programme fee
SGD 1,500.00 per module
Marking fee
SGD 50.00 per module
Payment mode
Paynow / Stripe / Credit card / Alipay / Wechat
Refund Terms
90% – more than 28 days before course commencement
50% – less than 28 days before course commencement
10% – less than 3 days before course commencement
0% – more than 3 days after the course commencement
