advice
T
he parents of five-year-old
Kimberly Mohinani, an
ethnic minority fourth
generation Hongkonger,
desperately want her to attend a
government subsidised English medium
school, or to gain a place in a private
international school with special
education needs (SEN) support. But
because Kimberly is a non-Chinese
speaking child with special education
needs, there are very few places
available.
Kimberly suffers from central
unspecified hypotonia: a neuromuscular
condition characterised by weak muscle
tone affecting her gross and fine motor
skills, and her speech. She has in the
region of a two-year cognitive delay and
some sensory processing issues. As a
result, Kimberly requires an adjusted
curriculum in areas in which she
is behind academically as well as
access to a teacher who is special-
education qualified.
Projecting forward
“Along the way, at every stage,
you don’t know if you’re going
to make the next milestone,”
says Kimberly’s mother, Trisha
Tran. “One of the biggest
moments of fear was when she
couldn’t speak. You project
forward and you think: how is
my child going to survive in life if she’s
not able to speak or communicate?”
It’s only natural to track development
milestones and more than one parent
has quietly let out a sigh of relief when
a missed milestone is finally achieved.
However, if a child’s development is
interrupted for any reason – be it illness,
disease or accident – all of sudden
parents may find themselves in a difficult
and unexpected position, and their
child’s education needs may change. “It
can really happen to anyone; you are not
immune from it if your current family
members don’t have it,” says Trisha.
Parent power
English is one of the three official
languages of Hong Kong, and speaking
English shouldn’t be a disadvantage to
a child’s education. Non-SEN children
have a choice between English and/
or Chinese medium subsidised public
or private schools, but non-Chinese
speaking SEN children have access
to far fewer English medium places.
In a bid to improve the
educational landscape for children
with special education needs
in Hong Kong, parents of non-
Chinese speaking SEN children
met with the Equal Opportunities
Commission (EOC) and asked
for more support from authorities.
The group said public mainstream
special education only caters for the
Chinese-speaking population, and more
English-speaking options for students
of different ethnic backgrounds were
needed. Education is a basic right for
Hongkongers and should be accessible to
anyone, regardless of ethnicity.
In a press release following the
meeting, the EOC said it advocates for
the effective implementation of integrated
education for students with special
education needs. It called upon the Hong
Kong government to review the situation
for non-Chinese speaking students with
special education needs to resolve the
problem of inadequate supply. But is an
integrated education system the best way
to go for SEN children?
“In certain respects, Hong Kong is
many years behind the rest of the world
in terms of where special needs education
should be,” says Trisha. “It’s still
operating in an integrated system, which
means you need to fit in. Alternatively,
an inclusive education system changes to
accommodate the child.”
If you are a non-Chinese speaking child with special education needs, the
choices for education are very limited in Hong Kong, writes
Scott Williamson
.
Special education in the SAR
Want to find out more?
The Special Needs Network Hong
Kong (SNNHK) is a parent support
group for Hong Kong based families
with special needs children. For
further information, you can contact
SNNHK at
