“Coaching special needs children with intellectual disabilities is indeed a challenging and an arduous task” says Connie Yee, a mother of Special needs child
“Coaching special needs children with intellectual disabilities is indeed a challenging and an arduous task” says Connie Yee, mother of Teik Kean, 23 years old. “We are required to have limitless patience, appropriate skills, and the ability to adapt to the erratic moods and the ever-evolving behaviour of our children, so that we can continuously engage and encourage them to grow” she continues.
Recently, Connie and Teik Kean took part in the 2-day virtual table tennis session conducted by Ms Lua Bee Yueh, SOAP Regional Sports Advisor for Table Tennis. Training at the start was challenging as the table tennis ball is “quite small, light, and bounces a little too easily!” Connie had to be innovative to create different exercises for Teik Kean to do. To his credit, diligent practice paid off and after two weeks, and some frustration, Teik Kean could serve the ball to the opponent and enjoy a few rallies with his mum. “I am very proud of how far he has come and his willingness to learn” says Connie.
