Joys of outdoor fun for cerebral palsy children
View(s):“Change My World In One Minute” is the heart-rending cry of children afflicted with Cerebral Palsy. This moving call is the theme for the current year of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and the response has been the Wheelchair swing.
October 1, 2014 was commemorated jointly by the World Health Organisation Country Office for Sri Lanka, the Colombo Municipal Council, the Urban Development Authority and the Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation to raise awareness among policy makers, service providers and the general public on the issues faced by children with Cerebral Palsy.
The main focus for this year has been to co-opt children with cerebral palsy into the joys of outdoor ‘fun’ activities. A special wheelchair swing was installed at the Viharamahadevi Park as well as at the Lady Ridgeway Teaching Hospital for children. The Chairman of the Urban Development Authority, Nimal Perera, Commissioner of the Municipal Council, Mrs. Bharati Jayaratne, W.H.O. Country Representative, Dr. F.R. Mehta, and the Founder, Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation Gopi Kitnasamy, medical specialists and politicians participated in the inaugural ceremony.
This special wheel chair swing project will serve the purpose of linking cerebral palsy children with other children as well as the general public. This programme for inclusiveness will have a therapeutic effect in the minds of the cerebral palsy affected children and their families who otherwise remain excluded from public space. An important consequence will be the de-stigmatization process that will naturally follow when children play and mingle together. A niche has been created for the special needs children and other children to interact socially.
The significant advantage of the wheelchair swing is that when the child is on it, a variety of the child’s needs for physical activity are met. As pointed out by the Cerebral Palsy Foundation the use of the swing:
- offers opportunities for improving arm, leg and trunk strength
- increases body awareness, and sensory stimulation and proprioceptive integration
- helps children who have difficulty maintaining their equilibrium and tolerating stimulus
- the swinging motion impacts the vestibular system, ….can improve a child’s balance and in turn their navigation and ambulation skills
- improvements in motor coordination, ability to put movements together and sequencing skills have also been observed
- the motion of the swing can be relaxing and calming for children who become over stimulated
- is just plain fun for children of all ages.
The commitment of Gopi Kitnasamy, the founder of this organization has to be commended. The efforts to provide these innovative facilities become possible only when the organisers are motivated to take up the cry to “ Change My World in One Minute” for the special needs of the children affected by Cerebral Palsy.
Our best wishes for the foundation to grow from strength to strength.
-Gnana Moonesinghe