Honey4Boyz

I will be sharing three disabilities that are increasingly prevalent:  cerebral palsy , autism disorders and Down syndrome  from my experience as a volunteer at PKIK (read  more ). XianJin followed me to PKIK during the school holidays in March. He's kinda 'stunned' to see the environment and disabled kids in the beginning. And pretty nervous like me too. He played some soothing music in the background while we're attending to the kids. Classical music does have a very calming effect. When he's more warmed up, he even helped to guide a student. He observed that during a task to hang clothes peg on a line, the student had arranged them in a repeated similar colour pattern. Like XianJin, many of us have some common misconceptions about people with learning disabilities. I think most people can pick out a person with Down syndrome. People with Down's have some characteristics that make them look like each other, eg  eyes that are often almond-shaped an...

I will be sharing three disabilities that are increasingly prevalent:  cerebral palsy , autism disorders and Down syndrome   from my experience as a volunteer at PKIK (read more ). Autism is a common disability at PKIK, something like 7 out of 10 students have autism disorders (the other 2 for Down Syndrome & 1 for CP). It's a broad term, meaning the child can be a little autistic or very autistic. The disability can be devastating that may require institutional care, and on another spectrum,  you've the Asperger syndrome, which is often of average or above average intelligence.  Loges is 16yo, he joined the Day Training Programme in mid 2011. He was accompanied by his mother to attend the programme for more than a year. Finally, in March this year, he didn't need a chaperon anymore. Like many other autistic kids there, he looks like a typical child. If these kids remain still, it's kinda hard to identify those who have the autism disorders.  ...

Lemongrass Tea anyone?  This lemongrass is part of the fruit and vegetable garden grown by the young adults at Joy Home in Semenyih. This is a place where the young adults with learning disabilities learn to live ordinary lives with minimal support, with their peers and away from their families. They usually check in on Monday and check out on Friday. During the day,  they will continue to go to their learning / training centre at PKIK..... Indeed true that we don't have to look hard to find opportunities to volunteer. One of the best places is in the community we live in. A few phone calls later and I learnt about  PKIK  or Persatuan Kanak-kanak Istimewa Kajang. It's not a home for special needs' people, rather it's a learning or training centre for children or persons with learning disabilities.  Currently, they have more than 90 students occupying 5 shoplots in Kajang Utama. Some of the students were referred by the nearby hospitals in Ka...