Christian Service News
Issue 59 (April 2008)
Newsflash
Sharing Conference on How to Promote Adventure Counseling
for Moderately Mentally Retarded Children
Most people may have never thought that a moderately mentally disabled person can make it through a forest alone, or that an autistic child can take up the challenge of ‘Trust Walk’ and lead blindfolded parents through layers of obstacles. However, after one year of implementation of the ‘ABC Adventure Classroom’, these seemingly impossibilities have now become real life adventure footage. For the first time, Hong Kong has integrated adventure counseling into the classroom for mentally disabled children. It aims to help these students build self-confidence and learn how to develop problem-solving skills. It is an attempt at bringing them a positive change.
‘ABC Adventure Classroom’ is the first joint project by HKCS Mobile Adventure Service and Po Leung Kuk Centenary School for the Mentally Handicapped (Disabled?). The project is supported by the Quality Education Fund. Not only does it boldly integrate adventure counseling into the classroom, it also emphasizes on developing training for teachers and seed parents (?), so that “adventure for all” is practiced in the schools. In order to conclude the practical experience of the project and to share about the power of adventure experienced by moderately mentally disabled students, a sharing conference was held in January for the field workers and the general public. Teaching manuals and CDs were distributed during that conference as well.
Those who are interested in the program may call the Mobile Adventure Service at 8201-1975 for more information.