Mark was diagnosed with mild autism when he was one year old; and with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at 16. Growing up, he struggled with anxiety issues and had regular emotional meltdowns that greatly affected his daily living and work. His mother, Mdm Lim, is his main caregiver. Often worrying about his future, Mdm Lim became increasingly uncertain about how she could support her son.
In 2021, she contacted Care Corner Singapore to seek professional counselling help for Mark. After a few counselling sessions, the counsellor journeying with Mark recommended them to also work with specialists from Care Corner’s Learning and Special Needs team.
Their specialist, Isaac, worked closely with both mother and son to better understand the improvements they were hoping to see in Mark. With the family’s goals in mind, he introduced them to the neuro-physiological approach*, which involves a set of specialised movement exercises that helps stimulate Mark’s brain to improve his emotional regulation.
“This approach is beneficial as it uses movement exercises to improve his mental health without the need for him to verbalise his emotions,” Mdm Lim shared.
With his mother’s encouragement and support, Mark carried out the movement exercises regularly at home. His diligence paid off. Within a few months, his meltdown durations decreased from hours to as short as 15 minutes. He also experienced less unpleasant flashbacks than before. Today at 25, Mark is able to understand and manage his emotions more easily.
“I am so grateful for the help I have received from both the counsellor and specialist from Care Corner. As a caregiver, it lightens my burden to see Mark’s condition improving. I am hopeful that his condition will improve further with the team supporting us,” Mdm Lim said.
*Neuro-Physiological approach uses simple physiological exercises to stimulate or regulate the brain and nervous system to improve one’s mental health. It makes use of the brain-body connection to help individuals improve mental health issues such as anxiety, stress, depression and psychosis.
