[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] Severance Hospital's Min Yoongi Center will launch a basketball therapy program for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.
Severance Hospital said on the 2nd that, through an MOU, it developed "MIND-PLAY," a program adapted for Korea based on the DRIB model, an integrated basketball program created by the Korean-American Special Education Center (KASEC).
KASEC, a U.S.-based nonprofit that supports Korean Americans with developmental disabilities, said in a mixed-method study published recently in the international journal Research in Autism that the integrated basketball program helps improve social skills and promotes physical and emotional well-being in people with autism spectrum disorder.
The Min Yoongi Center at Severance Hospital, which opened in September last year with a 5 billion won donation from BTS Suga (Min Yoon-gi), has been providing music-based social skills therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder. The new basketball therapy program, MIND-PLAY, was also launched with strong support from BTS Suga (Min Yoon-gi), a National Basketball Association global ambassador and basketball enthusiast.
Using basketball, a sport that is easy to access in daily life, MIND-PLAY aims to teach rule-following and teamwork while helping adolescents with autism spectrum disorder improve social and communication skills. The goal is to support independence, including growth into professional athletes.
The pilot program will run for 12 weeks, from the 2nd through Sept. 17, with one 90-minute session a week at the basketball court in Yonsei University's Sports Science Building. It is being carried out with support from the Yonsei University Department of Physical Education and the Department of Sport Industry Studies.
In MIND-PLAY, each adolescent with autism spectrum disorder is paired with a volunteer who provides support nearby. The volunteer demonstrates the movements and offers verbal encouragement, allowing the participant to naturally experience a cooperative relationship.
Through interaction and communication, participants build social skills. Running and dribbling help develop physical ability, while shooting and passing strengthen cognitive skills. They also gain emotional satisfaction through shooting and learning new techniques. The partner volunteers also learn how to interact with adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, helping improve awareness of disabilities.
The participating adolescents are trained in basketball skills such as dribbling, stepping, ball handling, passing and shooting. A basketball coach specializing in adapted physical education offers learning methods tailored to each child's level of disability and individual characteristics.
Cheon Keun-ah, head of the Min Yoongi Center at Severance Hospital and director of Severance Children's Hospital, said, "The Min Yoongi Center is working to help children with autism spectrum disorder receive personalized treatment through a variety of arts and physical activities, in addition to music." She added, "MIND-PLAY, the Min Yoongi Center's basketball-based program, goes beyond simple therapy. It aims to improve children's social skills and athletic abilities, laying the groundwork for a better quality of life and greater social independence in the future."
Meanwhile, the Min Yoongi Center at Severance Hospital held a successful "Mind Band" performance at the end of last year, in which children who received music therapy played instruments. In March, it published the "Mind Program" manual, which documents the music therapy process. About 20 children are currently taking part in practice sessions for a second performance planned for the end of this year.
Reporter Jang Jong-ho bellho@sportschosun.com
