admin The Heep Hong Society, which was founded in 1963 and helps children and youth with varied needs, started the hydrotherapy programme in June for those with physical handicaps and autism.
Its hydrotherapy pool is the first in Hong Kong dedicated to children with special educational needs (SEN). The 35 square meter pool is between 70cm and 120cm deep, and kept at a temperature of 32 to 34 degrees Celsius.
“Children feel relaxed in water. The buoyancy, pressure, and flow of water feel like massage and make their muscles relaxed,” Winnie Hui Fung-ying, physiotherapist of the Heep Hong Society, says. “With the instruction of physiotherapists, they can improve their muscle strength and body movement.”
So far, 48 children have joined the centre’s hydrotherapy programme, which comprises 12 one-hour sessions. Depending on each family’s ability to pay, it costs HK$2,550 or half that price, or may even be free of charge.
The programme will initially run for three years until May 2022 and is expected to benefit 432 children and teenagers up to 18 years old with physical handicaps or autism.
Low-income families, including those on the government’s Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme, are eligible for discounts on fees or pay nothing at all.
Hydrotherapy is known to help with pain relief and has mainly been used in hospitals for patients with diseases such as arthritis and rheumatic complaints.
Physiotherapists say the physical properties of water, including the temperature and pressure, are also effective in helping children with physical handicaps and autism by increasing their range of motion in water and improving their heart and lung functions to let them have better control of their bodies and balance.
But paediatrician Dr Henry Yeung warns that hydrotherapy should be carried out under the guidance of professionals in special temperature-controlled pools, to prevent risks such as drowning, especially for young children.
Statistics show that Hong Kong had more than 50,000 students with SEN during the 2017-2018 academic year. They include children with specific learning difficulties, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and physical disability. Apart from exercises in the water, the sessions also have games, like card and word games, for children to improve their cognitive ability and attention control. Parents are invited to join in, to make them closer to their children.
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