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Gaza’s water camp for autistic children

'The coronavirus has led to autistic children being cut off from society which increased their isolation'

August 25, 2020 at 3:09 pm

The Dolphin Water Sports Club in Gaza concluded its second swimming and water games camp on Saturday for children with autism. The camp was sponsored by the Higher Council for Youth and Sports.

During the ceremony, Assistant Secretary-General of the Council, Abdel-Salam Haniyeh, stressed the importance of caring for autistic children, as they possess great abilities and talents.

He expressed his hope that the efforts to teach the children how to swim will lead to them participating in international championships, highlighting Palestinian achievements in special needs sports.

The project representative, Reem Ja’arour told MEMO: “We created this idea for 20 children with relatively mild autism and wanted to use water therapy to treat the children as part of achieving sensory integration in this new environment and visual focus.”

“The project also aims to equip autistic children with swimming skills and self-reliance, as well as raising the level of psychological stability among the children’s parents as a result of the children developing swimming skills.”

Ja’arour noted that among the motives behind organising the camp is the need to integrate autistic children in their natural environment and to learn and gain new skills, as well as help the children’s parents teach them new skills.

The coronavirus has led to autistic children being cut off from society, Ja’arour added, which increased their isolation.

READ: Gaza on alert as 4 coronavirus cases detected