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Kids find out what can be “Fun to Play”

Our SDSC Touch reporter visited Jurong Garden School to see why playing is not all bad for kids.

Proper diets and adequate exercises are important in developing a healthy lifestyle. But there are many factors impeding the disabled from taking up sports. Not only are disability sports generally unknown to the public, many disabled are also not aware on the right way to exercise. 

Recognizing the importance of giving disabled kids an early headstart, the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC), with the invaluable partnership of Student Volunteer Corp (SVC), introduced the “Fun-To-Play” programme to special schools like Jurong Garden School and Rainbow Centre.

The programme involves light physical activities like throwing rocket-shaped foam tubes and rolling balls. Through enjoying these simple and fun activities, young disabled kids will be more susceptible to take up proper sporting activities in the future.

A good testimony of the programme’s success is Jurong Gardens School (JGS), one of the first to hold the Fun-To-Play programme. With the help of SVC volunteer trainers, the school introduced simplified versions of physical activities such as table soccer and captain’s ball to their students, with the aim of improving their hand-eye coordination. The programme has been executed so well by the teachers and volunteers that the young students can now look forward to participating in an upcoming sports carnival.

Success does not come easy. Some of the activities may seem simple for the common man, but for the disabled kids, it has been no mean feat just trying to get them to pay attention. Most of the students have short attention spans, which poses a huge communication and interaction barrier between them and the trainers. 

However, through experience and patience, the teachers and volunteers have managed to pace the activities according to the students’ adaptability. Instructions are now more simple and straightforward. Those who can pick up the activities more readily are encouraged to help the rest get more involved in the games.

The combined efforts of teachers and volunteers have seen the “Fun-To-Play” programme getting more mature and achieving considerable success. Despite a difficult beginning, teachers are enthusiastic on more collaborations with SDSC and SVC volunteers are staying on. 

When questioned on what her motivation was, Ms Hoi Kah Mun, one of the volunteers, replied that it was “the sense of achievement you feel when you see them improving from time to time, from not knowing how to even roll a ball to knowing how to throw and play with it.” Many others who have been interviewed admitted that it has been the innocent smiles on the students’ faces that have kept them going.

SDSC would like to thank Student Volunteer Corp for becoming a main partner in this programme, enabling its great success.