Over 100 special athletes take part in Sohap health screenings
MIRI: The Special Olympics Healthy Athlete Programme ( Sohap) held last Friday and Saturday at MRC Miri Chapter was a great success, with over 100 special athletes taking part.
The two- day programme — part of the Special Olympics programme which provides free health examination — saw athletes undergo screening in three areas: Opening Eyes ( eye- check- up), Special Smiles (oral check-up) and Health Promotion (nutrition and health education).
Sohap clinical director for health promotion Koa Ai Ling, when met yesterday, revealed the screenings were very encouraging as both examiners and participants engaged in proactive interaction.
“Mostly, what we did was discuss daily dietary intake with them, run a BMI (body mass index) screening and interviewed them.
“Most importantly, we wanted to educate them to take better care of themselves, such as by protecting themselves from sun exposure and making sure they wear appropriate attire to protect themselves from the sun,” said Koa, who is a dietician at Miri Hospital.
In terms of communication, Koa said most of the special athletes had the ability to understand the questions posed to them.
“If there are those who were unable to understand, we referred to their parents, who were very supportive.”
The first day of the Sohap programme included a briefing by Dr Chieng Lee Ling followed by an orientation for health and nonhealth volunteers. The second day was dedicated fully for the Sohap screening programme.
Special Olympics is a global movement that has changed the lives of people with intellectual disabilities over the years.
Special Olympics Miri Chapter, which has more than 250 athletes, has been actively promoting sports among the community and people with intellectual disabilities.