Over the past several months, Korean mothers have been tracking their children’s progress and documenting their changes as they implement daily exercise and therapy techniques at home for their children with disabilities. Through a simple guide written for parents raising children with special needs titled Journey Towards Joy, IGNIS Community has been working alongside a cohort of parents in South Korea to improve their children’s lives.  

Starting with a YouTube series and then followed by four trainings in person, IGNIS Community has been intensively training a cohort of 12-15 parents in neuro-developmental techniques and sensory processing activities. Each of the children in this cohort of families were individually assessed and recommended specific activities to help each child improve in his or her progress and development.

Just recently, these parents reached their three-month milestone of working daily and diligently with their child according to their newly learned skills and techniques that included exercises to help their child close gaps in their neuro-development. Typically, it takes three to four months for a child to improve and achieve one-half to one level in neuro-development. So when the first three months of exercises were completed, the cohort of parents gathered together to celebrate this momentous milestone in both their children’s and their family’s lives.

Most of the mothers in this group are raising children with life-long developmental disabilities. Many of them have children with autism. Others are raising young adults with mental disabilities. And still others have fully grown adult children with cerebral palsy. Yet, all of them have seen some progress as they work with their children at home.

One mother testified that after just a few months of exercises, her son is starting to speak for the first time in his life. She was in tears exclaiming that her son is now uttering the word “mom”. Another mother shared that her daughter, who is already a young adult, is now able to button and zip up her clothes all by herself. Yet another mother within the group shared that her child never allowed her to take him to the salon to get his hair cut, but since doing these exercises at home, he has not only allowed his hair to be cut but has also sat still throughout the entire procedure! But more than anything, it has been through journeying together as a mutual support group that joy is being restored to these families’ lives.

Now as this first cohort of mothers are being empowered and encouraged by their newly-learned skills, other mothers are wanting to join in on the second series of trainings. Already, seven more families have signed up for this second round of trainings for families with disabilities.

Medical treatment for children with disabilities has come a long way in South Korea, but there still remains much to be done to support the families in the process. Disabled individuals in South Korea still suffer from discrimination and inequality in every sector of Korean society, including opportunities for education and employment.

For this reason, IGNIS Community is proactively engaging with parents raising children with disabilities in both the North and the South. And as IGNIS Community empowers and encourages families throughout their life-long journey of raising and caring for their children, we eventually endeavor to establish an association for families with disabilities in South Korea and become more active throughout all sectors of Korean society.