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Every child deserves to have an active and fulfilled life. ASD children are no exception. Having ASD does not mean being deprived of what normal children can do because in essence they are all children with hopes and aspirations.
ARC and Pathlight realise that parents are a bit sceptical about letting their ASD child join camps because they worry that their child may not integrate well in an unstructured environment.
So, Dennis Tan and Brian Ravi decided to run the sports & fun camps during the school holidays. It started two years ago. Since then the number of applicants grew significantly.
“I felt very strongly that every child should be given the opportunity to develop a new skill thus I had a strong desire to run a sports and fun camp”, said Brian Ravi, one of the coach/organisers of the camps.
Dennis Tan feel that by organising these camps, the ASD children can be exposed to more outdoor activities.
“We realised that most of the ASD kids do not have the opportunity to engage and experience sports activities thus the idea of the camps was conceived,” said Dennis.
The organisers make safety their top priority when organising these camps.
“Ensuring safety is of utmost priority to allow every child to enjoy and learn a new skill,” said Brian.
Dennis also agreed with Brian citing that a good safety record is one of the reasons parents continue to sign their children up for these camps. He also said other factors come into play when selecting the programmes.
“I will look for areas that will help the kids in their focus, motor skills, acquiring a new experience etc.,” said Dennis.
Each camp costs about $100 a day or $300 for a 3-day camp per student. Students who are on financial assistance are subsidised for the camp. The cost covers food, transport, games, souvenirs, logistics and rental of sports equipment.
The December holiday camp has attracted a lot of applicants. Brian said that every child who attended the camp always looked forward to the next one as it never failed to deliver its objectives.
To conduct a camp is a labour of love for Brian. He described it in three words, love, passion and inspiration because the starfish story reminds him that every child matters.
Activities conducted by ARC for 2006 year-end school holidays:
- Sports & Fun Camp (senior): ages 9 – 16 years old (44 participants)
- Sports & Fun Camp (junior): ages 6 – 8 years old (404 participants)
- Developing Project Work & Social Play Skills: Pri 1 – 3 students (17 participants)
- Soccer Clinic (basic level): ages 8 –16 years old (22 participants)
- “Special & Feeling Great!” ASD Self-awareness Workshop: ages 9 – 11 and 12 – 16 years old (16 participants)
- Golf Appreciation Clinic: ages 6-8 and 9-16 years old (27 participants)
- In-line skating (first timers): ages 6 –16 years old (39 participants)
- Creative and Narrative Art Workshop: ages 6-10 (33 participants)
- Archery (senior): ages 9-16 years old (23 participants)
- Grammar workshop: P4 and P5 Pathlight students (22 participants)
283 programme seats* were filled as some students attended more than one programme.
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