Should HK need a public autism-focused primary school?

smith

Among all kinds of disabled children, the HKSAR Government has run the schools specifically for the blind, for the physical disabilities, and for the deaf, etc.  One of the reasons behind for running these special schools may be due to the special way of learning mode for the blind, the deaf and the children with physical disabilities.  But, there is no such focused school in HK specifically for autistic children.

For autistic children studying in the special child centre or normal Kindergarten (for the age group of 2 to 6 years old kids), they either go for the mainstream primary school with integrated education programme or the special primary schools mixing with children with other disabilities. But, the way of learning and behavior problems of the autistic children are very different from the other disabled. So, it may not be that ideal to mix autistic children with other disabled in the same special school setting. On the other hand, not all autistic children can manage with the mainstream school's setting/teaching mode. So, should HK need autism-focused primary schools for this group of disabled children suffering from autism.

In Singapore, their government has supported in establishing the first autism-focused primary school  "athlight School" (http://www.pathlight.org.sg/Pathlight/content/content.asp?categoryId=3364242220193145) in order to meet special educational needs for autistic children. The monthly tuition fee is $500 Sing's dollars.

What their School Supervisor Denise Phua said is so enlightening:
"The school goal is to develop the maximum potential and stretch the capability of each of our pupils. Every child, whether he has special learning needs or not, deserves that opportunity.  In Pathlight, we hope to build a strong foundation for all our pupils so that they will grow up to be confident and mature individuals who are able to hold jobs, live as independently as they can and do their bit to contribute back to society."

思佳媽咪

smith,

Thank you for your posting of the Pathlight School of Singapore.  I read through it & also read its related links.  

My son is 18 now.  We stayed in Singapore when he was aged 2 to 5.  At that time very few Singaporeans knew about autism - no assessment, no training, no integrated classes at all.  That's the reason we had to rush back to HK.  At least there were assessment & some training here .  Here there were I class in kindergarten & 啟導班 (& 融合教育 later) in primary.  There are great rooms of improvement for the integrated education in Hong Kong but I think we are really working on it.  From the articles posted by the Pathlight School, some of the students had gone through great difficulties in mainstream schools (e.g. complaints from teachers) & kept switching schools before they found this school.  This is a private school run by charitable organization.  The school fee is S$500 (around HK$2,300).  For the average Singaporeans, this is an amount they can't afford.  I have little idea of the progress of integrated education in Singapore now & thus cannot comment.  But just by looking at this school, I don't think the Singapore government has anything to do with it.

The Pathlight School really sounds attracting: teacher to student ratio is 1:8, the students can study mainstream curriculum & are optional to attend public exams. Job training is provided.  If it operates earlier, probably we will stay there!  I think If HK has such a private special school for A kids, the queue will be very long.

smith

思佳媽咪,

Glad to see your responses and sharing.

As I know, one private special school for autism has recently been  established in HK, but the school fee is as high as HK$17,000 per month, -- I think NOT many parents can afford it. Furthermore, the teaching medium is mainly English. But, establishment of this school can indicate a real demand for such type of autism-focused schools.

HK Government has been spending public money for running separate special schools especially for the blind, the deaf and the physical impairment. Why couldn't we have a special school soley for autistic children due to their entirely different learning modes from other disabled children?

jasper888

原文章由 smith 於 07-6-26 13:01 發表
Among all kinds of disabled children, the HKSAR Government has run the schools specifically for the blind, for the physical disabilities, and for the deaf, etc.  One of the reasons behind for run ...

I read from the leads in this forum that the Govt is going to do more for kids with dyslexia.  I wonder when will they do more for ASD kids?

smith

In late June / early July 07, I separately wrote (by email) to several members of Legislative Council  張文光議員, 張超雄議員, 陳智思議員, 楊森議員, 梁家傑議員 as well as 教育局局長(孫明揚 先生) explaining the need of autism-focused public / subsidized primary schools in HK.

The content of my letter to them was similar to the first message I posted here. But, I added one more point "we should start running autism-focused schools for the autistic children on the fact that they need intensive and special learning mode different from other disabled and normal children. By doing so, not only the autistic children can be blessed, but the social burden will also be reduced in the future because the autistic children can significantly and effectively improve their self-care skill and ability in handling their life with lesser dependence on the society while they are growing up."

Up to 13/7/07, I received reply from 張文光議員and 陳智思議員.  Below are the details of their reply:

Reply from 陳智思議員 (dated 13/7/07)
Dear Smith,

Thank you for your very interesting points.  I fully agree with you that we need to do more in this area in Hong Kong, and I will continue to urge my Government colleagues to consider it seriously.  As you know, there are many competing demands for resources, but I think the argument that more provision for autistic children at primary level could save money in the future is a strong one.

I would also urge you and other parents with autistic children to work together and continue to bring public and official attention to this cause.

With best wishes,
Bernie (陳智思)

Reply from 張文光議員 (dated 7/7/07)
Dear Mr. Smith,
Thank you for your email again.

As a matter of fact, I do not have any stance on requesting HK Government to establish public autism-focused primary schools until now. There is still a huge controversy over this issue. Some educators support this idea, but others do not. Even experts hold different views on it.

It is true that the government has run the schools specifically for the blind, for the physical disabilities, and for the deaf, etc. These types of special schools have very long history and I think these kinds of students need special equipment/ apparatus and unique learning mode to cater for their education needs.

However, there are so many kinds of children with special education needs. Apart from autistic children, the government has no tailor-made schools for some kinds of special learning disabled children including dyslexia, dyscalculia, attentional disorder, hyperactivity disorder, etc. I am not sure whether it is practical to run special schools for each kind of special education needs' children in Hong Kong.

But what I'm not saying I will not support the Government to build up an autism-focused school. I just want to tell you it is very controversial and yet I have any stance on it.

In my opinion, the most important thing now is to provide appropriate and adequate education for students with different special education needs. I am open-minded to your suggestion and will pass your message to the government. If you have any opinions, please feel free to write to us. Thank you.

Regards,
Cheung Man Kwong (張文光)

[ 本文章最後由 smith 於 07-7-14 09:26 編輯 ]