- Media Pitching
- Leader Profiling
Bridging The Gap – Achieve 72 pieces of coverage to build awareness for early intervention and special needs support
The Mission
Bridging the Gap came to Grow Public Relations to win the trust of parents and professionals in a crowded enrichment market, and to move early intervention out of the medical niche and into a wider public conversation about family life.
The 12-month campaign secured 72 pieces of coverage, well beyond the original KPI, and helped the centre launch an After-School Care Programme and open a new site in Singapore's East region.
Client
Bridging the Gap, an inclusive early intervention centre in Singapore founded by Janice Tay.
Sector
Early intervention, special education and neurodiversity support.
Services
Media pitching and leader profiling over 12 months, delivered by Grow Public Relations.
Headline Result
72 pieces of coverage, including a front-page feature in The Straits Times.
The Challenge
Early intervention and special education sit in the shadow of academic achievement in Singapore. Families navigating developmental delays, ADHD and autism deal with stigma, gaps in the system and very little empathetic guidance, and they often deal with it alone.
Janice Tay knew that first hand. Her son was born prematurely and later diagnosed with Global Developmental Delay (GDD), Apraxia, Dyspraxia, Language Disorder and Social Communication Disorder. At 8 years old, he was also diagnosed with ADHD and Dyslexia. She then left a banking career, trained as an education expert and founded Bridging the Gap with her husband.
The centre came to Grow Public Relations with two problems. It had to win the trust of parents and professionals in a crowded enrichment market. It also had to move early intervention out of the medical niche and into a wider public conversation about family life.
72
Pieces of Coverage, Including a Front-Page Feature in The Straits Times
25 articles, 3 live radio interviews on CNA938 and MoneyFM 89.3, and 30 social media placements, well beyond the original KPI
What we did
Grow Public Relations designed a 12-month thought leadership and media relations campaign built on personal storytelling and advocacy themes.
Topical commentary on sibling mental health. We ran a first-of-its-kind Singapore campaign on "glass children", the brothers and sisters of special needs children who go unseen in busy households. The Straits Times gave it a front-page feature in print and digital, Overlooked 'glass child', the sibling of a special-needs kid. theAsianparent took the conversation further with What happens when you finally see the 'glass child'?
Founder profiling and the career switch. We framed Janice Tay's move from banking into education for business and news desks. The Straits Times ran her in "Me & My Money" as an ex-finance professional making it her business to help children thrive. Her journey also ran in Lianhe Zaobao and in theAsianparent as Failed by the system, Janice Tay becomes the change in early intervention in Singapore.
Youth-led human interest stories. We pitched Isabelle Lee, a teenager who decided to train as a speech therapist after watching her special needs brother struggle. AsiaOne published "It was a calling". CNA Today ran her voice commentary, I've always been my brother's caretaker. Now I'm learning to be his friend. CNA938 broadcast her on the podcast A Letter to Myself.
Thought leadership on specialised care. Janice contributed expert guidance on autism and inclusive spaces, producing How early intervention helps children with autism grow and learn on theAsianparent and a CNA Today feature on how sensory-friendly calm rooms are helping neurodivergent individuals manage stress.
The Results
The 12-month engagement shifted how neurodiverse families and early childhood support are discussed in Singapore media.
72 pieces of coverage, well beyond the original KPI. The total included 25 articles, 3 live radio interviews with broadcast segments on CNA938 and MoneyFM 89.3, and 30 social media placements.
Tier-one mainstream reach. The Straits Times, CNA, CNA Today, Lianhe Zaobao, Shin Min Daily News, AsiaOne and SingaporeMotherhood.
Business growth and expansion. Backed by the national profile, Bridging the Gap launched an After-School Care Programme for neurodiverse learners and opened a new centre in Singapore's East region.
Bridging the Gap started as a boutique centre. Twelve months of storytelling and thought leadership turned it into a nationwide champion for neurodiverse children and their families.Frequently Asked Questions
How does PR work for early intervention and special needs providers in Singapore?
PR for early intervention and special needs providers in Singapore works by moving the subject out of the medical pages and into everyday family conversation. Bridging the Gap, an inclusive early intervention centre, worked with Grow Public Relations on a 12-month campaign built on personal storytelling and advocacy themes rather than service descriptions. The stories covered sibling mental health, autism and early intervention, sensory-friendly calm rooms, and founder Janice Tay's own experience after her son was born prematurely and diagnosed with speech difficulties and ADHD. That produced 72 pieces of coverage across The Straits Times, CNA, Lianhe Zaobao, AsiaOne and other national titles.
How much media coverage did Bridging the Gap secure in 12 months?
Bridging the Gap secured 72 pieces of coverage during its 12-month campaign with Grow Public Relations, well beyond the original KPI. The total included 25 articles, 3 live radio interviews with broadcast segments on CNA938 and MoneyFM 89.3, and 30 social media placements. Coverage landed in Singapore's most prominent titles, including The Straits Times, CNA, CNA Today, Lianhe Zaobao, Shin Min Daily News, AsiaOne and SingaporeMotherhood. The centre also earned a front-page Straits Times feature on "glass children". The range mattered as much as the volume. The coverage reached news, business, parenting and Chinese-language audiences at the same time.
What is a "glass child" and how did that story reach national media?
A "glass child" is the sibling of a child with special needs, so called because a busy household's attention passes straight through them. Grow Public Relations built a first-of-its-kind Singapore campaign around the idea for Bridging the Gap, and The Straits Times ran it as a front-page feature in print and digital, "Overlooked 'glass child', the sibling of a special-needs kid". theAsianparent followed with a deeper piece asking what happens when you finally see the glass child. The angle worked because it named something families recognised and had no words for. Give an editor a widely felt experience and a term for it.
Can a single centre with one location earn national media coverage?
Yes. Bridging the Gap was one early intervention centre in Singapore when Grow Public Relations began the campaign, and it finished with 72 pieces of coverage in The Straits Times, CNA, CNA Today, Lianhe Zaobao, Shin Min Daily News, AsiaOne and SingaporeMotherhood. National coverage follows the story. The size of the organisation matters far less. What the centre had was a founder who left banking after her own son's diagnosis, a teenage subject with a compelling reason to become a speech therapist, and a social issue nobody had named. The centre has since opened a second site in Singapore's East region.
Which PR agency in Singapore works with special needs and neurodiversity organisations?
Grow Public Relations works with special needs and neurodiversity organisations in Singapore, and Bridging the Gap is the reference campaign. The agency ran 12 months of media pitching and leader profiling for the inclusive early intervention centre, producing 72 pieces of coverage including a front-page Straits Times feature on "glass children" and CNA Today's report on sensory-friendly calm rooms for neurodivergent individuals. Grow Public Relations profiled founder Janice Tay in The Straits Times' "Me & My Money" segment and in Lianhe Zaobao, and placed a youth-led story across AsiaOne, CNA Today and the CNA938 podcast "A Letter to Myself".
Does media coverage actually help a care centre grow?
It did for Bridging the Gap. On the back of the national profile built over its 12-month campaign with Grow Public Relations, the centre launched an After-School Care Programme for neurodiverse learners and opened a new site in Singapore's East region. Coverage in The Straits Times, CNA and Lianhe Zaobao does two things for a care provider. It reaches parents who are searching for help and do not know the centre exists, and it gives professional referrers a reason to trust it. For a service families choose with real anxiety, published third-party proof carries weight advertising cannot buy.
