Minds Craft

More documents

Recommendations

Info

• Text & photos by: Mr Ling Chong Beng, Head of MV Group Home & Hostel • A LOOK INTO COMMUNITY GROUP HOME MINDS had set-up two Community Group Home units located in the east on 10 May 2010 with the following objectives: • to train residents to live with minimum support in the community • to enhance a resident’s quality of life through social inclusion and provision of choices • to allow residents with potential to live with minimum support in the community Our model for the Community Group Home emphasized in the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Enabling Master Plan 2007 to 2011, can also supplement the Trusteeship Scheme managed by Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC) in providing the care component to low support need persons with intellectual disability. The three male and three female residents who participated in this project expressed much happiness and joy after successfully moving into the two 4-rooms HDB flat units. With the new environment, the residents have also learned and appreciated the need to help each other and are also more willing to learn new tasks required for independent living. To date, they have been able to enjoy full independent living where they exercise their own choices in deciding how to decorate their own home and how they should spend their time with family and friends at their own premises. They are able to experience and enjoy the freedom of choice, which many people with intellectual disability are not able to do. Learning to cook independently After the move into their new home, the residents have participated in many community and grassroots activities and have even helped the Residents’ Committee in many occasions where they have been treated as normal members of the community. They are also making use of community facilities like the library and cinema for their own recreation. We are delighted that our residents are not only being successfully placed in the community but are also now part of the community. We currently still have three male and three female vacancies in the two units Community Group Home units. If you would like your child or siblings with intellectual disability to learn independent living skills and enjoy living in the community with support from our staff, please contact the following personnel for more information: Elene Liew, Social Worker, Hostel / Group Home at email: eleneliew.mv@minds.org. sg, tel: 6387-7662 ext. 240. Ling Chong Beng, Head, Hostel / Group Home at email: lingchongbeng.mv@ minds.org.sg, tel: 63877662 ext 207. We look forward to working with you to enhance your child or sibling’s skills in community living. A homey living room for the residents 12
• Text & photos by: Ms Cheryl Lee, Social Worker & Ms Prabha Ramakrishnan, Occupational Therapist • HEALTHY LIFESTYLE @ SMEDC Early 2009, the first Physical Fitness Group was started with the aim to help eight high-priority trainees lose some pounds and also give them an opportunity to exercise regularly. For some trainees who have minimum exposure to exercise and physical activities once they return home, they tend to put on weight at a faster rate. This group session also gave rise to more interaction opportunity to mingle with their peers, which made the session more meaningful Cycling is fun and exciting! Initially, the three-times-a-week fitness group seemed like another work activity for the trainees. When the move to introduce other various activities (apart from walking on the treadmill and cycling), such as visiting community parks and playing ball games took place, the trainees became more involved and excited. Walking around the community park further motivated some of them to do the same in their own neighbourhood park. Pleasantly surprised, they all looked forward to these group sessions and would make bookings with the therapist two days ahead of their scheduled sessions! Apart from exercises, trainees were also educated on acquiring a healthy and balanced diet through picture cards and group interaction games, for which they were more than willing to participate. Witnessing this enthusiasm, the Physical Fitness Group has now expanded to benefit more members. On 12 September 2011, 100 trainees, including those in the Physical Fitness Ms Prabha giving instructions to her gym trainees Group, attended Mr Bottle’s Magic Show on Nutrition, kindly sponsored by the Health Promotion Board (HPB). Rainbow coloured balloons and handkerchiefs that were pulled out of the magician’s top hat reminded them that a healthy diet could be maintained by regular consumption of fruits and vegetables that marked the colours of the rainbow. A competition on “who had the quickest reaction” showed the trainees different kinds of exercises they could do for at least 150 minutes per week, such as skipping, jogging, and swimming. Lessons on eating right and importance of exercise were ingeniously incorporated into different tricks and mini competitions which built more excitement amongst trainees. Towards the end of the show, we were all reminded on eating two servings each of fruits and vegetables per day to maintain a healthy and balanced diet. Within the Physical Fitness Group, a decrease in trainees BMI was recorded, and a positive feedback on their productivity was derived from their training officers. Trainees were overjoyed at seeing themselves lose weight. Needless to say, these results boosted their self-esteem. It was also heart-warming to see them make new friends throughout the duration of the programme. “I am happy to enjoy the company of friends and get to know more friends” – Eileen & Yin choo. “I enjoy playing games” – Zhen Zhen Recommendations It would definitely make a positive difference if adults with intellectual disability and their caregivers receive appropriate ongoing education regarding healthy living in areas such as nutrition, exercise, and oral hygiene and recognise the need to implement activities to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Consider doing the following at home: 1. Walk/cycle to the nearest park, making use of the exercise equipment in the neighbourhood. 2. Participate in swimming classes, as a group and/or together with family members. 3. Engage your child/ward to help out with household chores such as mopping, sweeping and washing the dishes. This will help your child/ward to be on the move, rather than being hooked to the television or computer. 4. Encourage your child/ward to engage in play time with siblings or friends, through activities such as soccer or badminton. All these activities not only help your child to lose calories, but it encourages your child to be more independent, and also to spend more quality time with others and family members. However, there are also some things to take note of: 1. Get advice from your physician before you put your child through any kind of strenuous activities. Always watch out for warning signs such as difficulty in breathing and fatigue. When your child displays these signs and symptoms, stop the activity immediately and give them some time to relax before continuing with the activity. 2. Ensure the safety of your child/ ward at all times when doing any kind of physical activity. This includes making sure the physical environment is safe. 3. Always do warm up and cool down exercises before and after any physical activity. 13
Page 1 and 2: MICA (P) 036/02/2012 Issue No. 1/20
Page 3 and 4: MESSAGE FROM THE CEO Almost 50 year
Page 5 and 6: • Text by: Mr Abdul Hafiz, Assist
Page 7 and 8: • Text & photos by: FGS • Let
Page 9 and 10: • Text by: Ms Hema D/O Thenarassu
Page 11 and 12: • Text by: Mr Jason Sim, Job Plac
Page 13: • Text & photos by: LGS • SPIDE
Page 17 and 18: • Text & photos by: WGS • SPECI
Page 19 and 20: • Text by: Mr Selvadurai Joshua,

Minds Craft

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?