It was a typical Sunday morning. Dominique Phang dropped her younger son Ethan Khor at the church’s pre-school Sunday School class before heading off to teach her own Sunday School class. What happened after that, though, was less typical.

“When I went to pick him up, I heard that there was a not-so-nice incident where he was disciplined by a newcomer parent,” recounted Dominique, 45.

Ethan was four years old then and had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a neurological and development disorder. Dominique guessed that he may have been disruptive in class, resulting in the physical discipline.   

Dominique and Keith with their sons Ethan (left) and Daniel (right).  Every year since the boys were young, the family has run to raise funds to support those with autism.

“The feeling I got was that because of my son, the newcomer was very upset and would not be coming again.

“To hear that my four-year-old was hit by a stranger while I was serving was difficult.”

The next week, Dominique sent her children to a church with a special needs children’s ministry. Her older son, Daniel, was also on the autism spectrum. But Dominique and her husband Keith, 47, remained in their home church, continuing to serve in the Sunday School and Youth Ministries respectively.

“We knew leaving was not something that God had called us to do. We just questioned whether this was going to be a viable arrangement in the long run,” said Dominique who had to have her parents take her kids to the new church.

Her sons would remain in the special needs ministry of that church for the next seven years until Dominique met another young person with special needs who had no ministry tailored for him.

Not one, but two  

When her firstborn was slow to speak, Dominique assumed it was “a boy thing”. He was the first grandchild on either side of the family, so there were no cousins against whom they could benchmark his progress.

But by two years old, Daniel still had only a few words in his vocabulary. Coupled with poor eye contact, a lack of social interaction and rigidity with regard to his daily routine, Daniel showed signs of having ASD. His parents took him to a doctor who advised them to wait six months to see if his condition improved.

Keith and Dominique with their sons Ethan (left) and Daniel (right).

When nothing changed after that time, the Khors started Daniel on speech and occupational therapy, and put him on the wait list for early intervention. As a family physician, Dominique knew how difficult it was to get on the programme.

“I took the news of his diagnosis quite matter-of-factly. I was like, okay, if there is an issue, we need to take the next steps to fix it,” said Dominique.

“What helped me was that my husband was with me throughout the whole journey. He was very pragmatic, too.

“We felt that if there is an issue, if we don’t accept and quickly figure out the next step, the one who suffers the most would be the child.”

By then, their second son Ethan had also come along, just 20 months younger than Daniel. So the Khors had “little brain space or energy to think too much” as well.

Daniel’s diagnosis made the Khors watch their second son more closely. Ethan seemed fine at first. At 12 months, he could speak. He loved the alphabet and would rattle off the letters. He had better eye contact and interaction than his brother, and was less rigid in his routines.

Both Ethan and Daniel were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when they were about four although the boys are at two ends of the spectrum. Daniel is in a mainstream school, while Ethan is in a special needs school.

But by two, he began to regress. Though he spoke words and spelt out the letters of his favourite things like “octopus” and “starfish”, he could not communicate. At three, he joined the queue for early intervention. By four, he was diagnosed with ASD.

“I had half expected it,” said Dominique.

“But we never asked God why. A lot of it is really because my husband is really grounded. He is a stabilising force in all of this.

“He was the one who said, ‘If we have two children who are like that, there must be a reason.’ I was just focused on doing the next thing for them.”

A class for one

Two years after enrolling her sons at a special needs children’s ministry in another church, a new family joined Sengkang Methodist Church (SKMC) where Dominique and Keith worshipped and served.

The family had a son with a very rare disease and an intellectual disability. Though nearly a teen, he could only join the Sunday School for preschoolers. But as time went on, it became clear that it was less and less appropriate for him to remain in that class for little children.

Ohana Ministry began with a class of one when a new family started attending Sengkang Methodist Church after visiting several churches in the hope of finding a place for their teen son with special needs.

“That was when God challenged me to move from teaching a whole Sunday School class to teaching a class for one,” said Dominique.

Dominique answered the call because she did not want another family to go through what she had. With no special training, she leaned on her years of parenting two boys on the autism spectrum and attending classes for that.

“It was a lot of trial and error working with his parents. I didn’t know if I was successful or not with their son. That is one of the things about working with people who have very little verbal ability.

“I had to pray, ‘God, I don’t really know if he can understand. But I want him to be able to be in an environment where he can hear Your Word and have a chance to worship with others, and where his parents are able to attend service during the time that he is also receiving from You.’”

Over time, although the by-then teenager could not articulate his needs, it was clear that he enjoyed the one-on-one class and listening to the worship songs even if he could not sing along.

A family for all 

That class of one which began in 2013 was the seed of the special needs ministry, Ohana Ministry, in SKMC. The name comes from the Disney cartoon Lilo and Stitch and is Hawaiian for “family”.

Like the concept of a family where no one is left behind or forgotten, Ohana Ministry aims to ensure that everyone is included.

Dominique conducting a lesson in Ohana Ministry in 2014.

Said Dominique: “We were inspired by the story of the four friends in the Bible (Luke 5:17-26). We envisioned ourselves as the four friends taking our friends with disabilities to Jesus.

“There are a lot of barriers and they cannot get to Jesus. But we want to break down the barriers. This has guided us in the ministry.”

A birthday celebration in Ohana Ministry in 2015 in the early days of the ministry with Dominique (second from left, standing).

By 2016, Ohana Ministry had grown to 10 strong. All but one had come to SKMC because of Ohana Ministry.

In 2018, Dominique decided to make Ohana Ministry a stand-alone ministry. Until then, it had been a part of the Children’s Ministry.

That was the year that Dominique also brought her sons back to SKMC. Daniel was 11 at the time and able to join the mainstream Children’s Ministry. Ethan had Ohana Ministry to welcome him.

Every child a welcomed individual

Because Ohana Ministry began with a personalised model, Dominique was determined to continue the person-centric approach even when the ministry grew.

An Ohana Ministry outing to the beach in 2019.

“From my training as a medical doctor, I use a person-centric approach for patients. Each treatment has to match the person’s needs.

“Within Ohana Ministry, there is also no uniform diagnosis. We have one with a rare disease, some who have autism with different levels of functionality, those with Down Syndrome or intellectual disability. So I knew right from the start that we had to have an individualised approach.”

Beyond that, the ministry looks at each person as a unit in a family. So it is as much a ministry to those with special needs as it is to the ones who support them. This means that it is a labour intensive ministry with almost one volunteer teacher to each person with special needs.

“People who come and serve connect with them and build relationships with them.”

While Ohana Ministry started as a ministry for children, there is no age limit for its members. As long as they have special needs, they are welcomed.

The Ohana Ministry at the beach.

Apart from the “pull-out model” that Ohana Ministry offers, where those with special needs are given dedicated space for specialised support, Dominique, who is now the Vice Chairperson of the Local Church Executive Committee (LCEC) in her church, has also worked with the church leadership to create an integrated model.

Based on this model, higher functioning neurodivergent individuals can be integrated into existing ministries with some adaptations.

Every year, the church sets aside a day they call Ohana Sunday to showcase the work of the ministry and to help the church learn more about the members in their midst with special needs.

This came out of Dominique’s personal experience. While Ethan requires a pull-out model, Daniel, who needs less support, is able to fit into peer group ministries and the regular worship service, but might benefit from some measures to accommodate him.

“For example in cell groups, they can be paired with a buddy or the material can be adapted a bit. So families can choose a model that would best fit their loved one’s needs.”

From seed to sheltering tree

The church as a whole has also been schooled to make space for members with special needs, allowing their families to worship together.

Ohana Sunday in 2019.

“When they hear a noise or someone questioning the preacher in the main service when there is no Ohana Ministry (on alternate weeks), the people understand. It’s a church-wide mindset we want to develop.”

SKMC now offers sensory kits at their worship service for those who need them.

Each kit comes with earmuffs to combat sensory overload, fidget toys and a timer.

In recent times, SKMC has been working closely with KIN (Koinonia Inclusion Network), a disability mission organisation, to train the church, beginning with its leaders, to be more inclusive.

The plan is for the church to be one of the seed churches for Methodist churches interested in starting a special needs ministry.

“It is like a tree that needs to continue to flourish so others can come and seek refuge, and more seeds can be planted.”

A plan and a purpose

Daniel is now 18 and a student at an IB (International Baccalaureate) school. Social cues remain a challenge for him, but he has otherwise found his place in life.

Ethan, at 17, remains non-verbal and requires help for his daily living.

From left to right: Dominique, Daniel, Ethan and Keith in 2025.

“As he gets older, cyclical grief is something that hits me. I see patients my son’s age now able to come to the clinic on their own, but he still cannot. I see his peers going to JC (junior college) or polytechnic, and he is still a three-year-old in a 17-year-old body. That affects me.

“But in my time with God, He assures me there is always a reason.”

Indeed the reason has been revealed little by little over time. Apart from paving the way for Ohana Ministry, her sons have been instrumental in the faith journey of Dominique’s own father.

After years of ferrying the boys to and from church to attend a special needs Sunday School, he ended up sitting in at the worship service and eventually accepting Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

“It was a 20-over-year prayer that was answered,” said Dominique. “In retrospect, I could see why we had to send the boys there.”

Dominique adds that her sons have also helped disciple and transform her.

“If I did not have them, I would have been quite a go-getter. My personality is very Type A. Empathy is not something that comes very easily for me. But because of them, I am able to empathise and see things from other people’s perspective.”

A pastor at SKMC who, until then, had no experience with special needs ministry, confessed to Dominique after two years in the church: “He told me he can see why Ethan is here. His presence alone is needed for us to grow and know more about Him. God made him this way for a reason and his presence is a blessing to us and a blessing to him (the pastor).

“We believe our sons are given to us for a purpose. Whatever God gives to us is for us to use to point others back to Him. It is the story of our family.”

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