Kite flying as therapeutic experience across ability spectrum

Makar Sankranti is the cultural festival of North India marked by kite flying and worship Sun God, For educational institutions, the festival should with art and culture integrated experience along with guided experience as therapeutic intervention as my article [1], in merinews.com indicated.

Kite flying, when used as a designed intervention under the guidance a therapist is proved to enhance awareness, improve fine motor development and as well as decrease anxiety and depression.

There are evidences that kite flying when used as a therapy lead to anatomic or neurological changes in areas of the brain involved in memory, cognitive development, fine-motor development, coordination functions of limbs, learning, and emotion.

For children with special needs, the therapeutic process of demonstration, assisted action and specific hand-and-finger movements should be followed.

Here is a mini poem on kite for children with special needs and a collage of kite flying by a child

MINI-POEM

On a windy day

Kite flies up the way.

It creates sound -

Zip-zap, zip-zap.

It dances -

Flip-flap, flip-flap.

[1] Kite-flying as a therapy for healing and health for people with special needs

Last year, I happened to attend Makar Sakranti, the kite-flying festival in a special education school in which the normal children flew kites in the presence of children with special needs.

Dr. Lalit Kishore | Jul 05, 2017, Merinew