More than words: Hong Kong yoga therapy soothes child born with speech, sensory, motor skills challenges
- Charity YAMA Foundation gets funding from Operation Santa Claus to hold free yoga sessions for people from underprivileged families with disabilities
- The charity will work with NGOs which will refer beneficiaries; parents of nine-year-old Mattias Chung says sessions have greatly helped their child
Nine-year-old Mattias Chung Pui-yin was born with a genetic disease that affects his motor skills and development, but he appears to have a spring in his step as he energetically darts around a yoga studio, playing with his instructors.
Chung’s condition, called 13q interstitial deletion, hinders his small-muscle movements. He also has apraxia of speech, meaning he has difficulties with oral movements, as well as sensory-processing disorder, which makes him extra sensitive to his environment.
“He has a very short attention span, as you can tell he’s very active, easily distracted, and can be impulsive in some of his responses,” mother Tina Chung said.
But thanks to YAMA Foundation – a charity dedicated to making yoga and art therapy available for individuals with disabilities since 2016 – her son is now able to focus and do yoga for up to 35 minutes in one go per week.
Chung’s parents agreed the one-on-one adaptive yoga therapy sessions that their child had been attending since March had “helped him a great deal”.