Jaldeen (behind, second from right in yellow shirt) and Sariah (in wheelchair) sharing a light moment with participants of the tournament. — Photos: AZMAN GHANI/The Star
A BOWLING tournament was held for dyslexic kids to improve their coordination and focus, while increasing self-confidence.
The tournament, organised by Dyslexia Genius Malaysia, was attended by 116 students from its four centres in Titiwangsa, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), Puchong and Shah Alam.
Dyslexia Genius Malaysia founder and educational psychologist Jaldeen Mohd Ali said: “Our aim is to not only arrange activities for kids to have fun, but for them to improve focus and balance coordination of their body.
“Sports such as bowling improve their hand-eye coordination and increase self-confidence.
“At the centres, these kids are taught using different learning strategies from mainstream methods. We train them to cope with difficulties so that they can return to mainstream schools to keep up with the rest of their peers.”
He added that they also have youth programmes to prepare students for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination and activities for adults involving counselling.
“We thank parents for trusting our centre and also for showing their support in letting their kids join our programme,’’ Jaldeen said after the event at Ampang Super Bowl in Selangor recently.
The event was co-hosted by adviser and Syariah Intensive Dyslexia Guidance Technique Programme (SPTBID) owner Sariah Amirin.
The competition was separated into two sessions. The first session saw mixed groups of boys and girls competing against each other, while the second was a competition amongst individual players based on gender.
The age range of the event was between seven and 17, and participants were divided into three categories.
The first category was for ages seven to nine, second category was for ages 10 to 12 while those above the age of 13 were in the third category.
Winners of each category were split according to group and individual players.
In the first category, Aleeya Azzahra, Muhammad Ridwan, Ahmad Sufi and Muhammad Adam Daniel emerged as group winners.
First place for the male and female individual category went to Muhammad Que Firas and Nur Natrah Alifah respectively.
In the second category, first place for group was bagged by Delisha Nursafiyya, Zainal Abidin, Muhammad Muadz Zamri and Uwais Hakimi.
The first place for male and female individual category went to Uwais Hakimi and Delisya Nursafiyya respectively.
In the third category, Kalaimagal, Muhammad Luqman Afif, Fieras Faris and Arif Syawal won first place.
The first place for male and female individual category went to Osama Mohammad and Kalaimagal respectively.
Entry fee was RM50 per person, as the tournament provided bowling gear, medals, trophies, food and drinks.
After the event, Dyslexia Genius Malaysia staff were given the opportunity to play against participants’ parents.
