Minds opens first adult sensory gym
You will not find your usual barbells, weights and treadmills in this gym; instead, there is a ball pit, a trampoline tunnel and five different types of swings.
The Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (Minds) opened its first sensory gym for adults yesterday, located at Mindsville@Napiri.
The gym is part of the centre's sensory integration therapy programme for its adult clients.
People with intellectual and development disabilities often face difficulty in regulating their sensory input, meaning that stimuli in their environments can overwhelm them, according to Mr Ramachandran Ashokkumar, head occupational therapist at Minds.
He said: "Clients might have inappropriate responses to loud noises or being touched. The gym lets them regulate themselves."
The opening of the gym was officiated by Ms Denise Phua, Mayor of Central Singapore District, and Dr Mohamed Omar Abdulla Balfaqeeh, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Singapore. The UAE partly funded the sensory gym.
Ms Koh Gee May, Minds acting chief executive, said: "The attention given to people with disabilities has been growing in recent years."
She noted that the government is taking steps in this area through programmes like the Enabling Masterplan, which is in its third iteration .
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