Former kindergarten teacher embraces SEN with the calming power of picture book x yoga

“I have always felt that my abilities as a teacher are limited.” There is a sense of powerlessness in her role, as told by kindergarten teacher Winki. In recent years, the number of children with special educational needs (SEN) is on the rise, including developmental delay, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and others. Winki noted that children with serious conditions may injure themselves, teachers or classmates unintentionally, as she has encountered before. “Parents and principals may not realise the seriousness of it, and there is insufficient manpower to handle such situations in class, therefore I want to help more children and educate parents by not being a teacher.”

After resigning, Winki participated in the Idea Generation and Prototyping Bootcamp organised by the Impact Innovation Lab, and learnt about entrepreneurship from scratch. “I am confident in holding activities, but starting a business is a different animal.” Under the guidance of tutors and consultants, she acquired design thinking and identified preschoolers with ASD and ADHD as her target groups. With an understanding of their pain points, Winki established the social enterprise Yogaholic Studio and created “Embrace Angel Yogis”, a social innovation project that marries yoga and picture books. Through parent-child yoga classes, her project meets the physical and spiritual development of young children, and is selected as one of the Incubatees, receiving Seed Funding from The Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund.

SEN children prefer visual learning rather than verbal instructions, hence it is easier for them to understand what others want to express via picture books. Winki said that stories also cultivate empathy. “They could not understand others’ feelings, nor could they control their strength, so sometimes playing turned into hitting.” The yoga practices are set based on different themes from picture books, with repetition in movements that helps stabilise their emotions and improve their concentration. Yoga is also good for balance, muscle control, vestibular training, etc.

Social support for SEN is insufficient, many parents are unwilling to admit that their children have special needs, and have no clue how to get along with them. With the funding, Winki offered free workshops that attracted plenty of parents across different districts to join. “Parents are the ones who spend the most time with their children, so I hold parent-child yoga classes, to let them know how to use picture books, yoga and breathing balls.” She has been making her own “breathing cards” that guide parents to calm children down through breathing games at home. Moreover, she plans to produce picture books related to Cantonese nursery rhymes. During the six-month incubation period, 90 SEN children participated in her workshops.


Meanwhile, Winki also found her own strengths in the process. “Some said all kindergarten teachers do in class is singing and colouring; I felt the same before. However, after training, I am aware that I have a knack for storytelling and managing groups of kids, which are also professional skills.” Past experiences lay the foundation for her startup, and even the project name “Embrace Angel Yogis” reflects her own experience: “All a child needs is an embrace that shows your acceptance.”
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