Special-needs children need better protection
Local children with disabilities are usually better off than those in less developed countries, but they are still harassed in schools, said Maggie Koong, a council member of Unicef Hong Kong.
Hong Kong schools should develop better policies to deal with bullying of children with special needs, a Unicef expert has urged.
Local children with disabilities are usually better off than those in less developed countries, but they are still harassed in schools, said Maggie Koong, a council member of Unicef Hong Kong.
"There should be a clear guideline for schools to define and handle bullying," she said after Unicef released the 2013 edition of its annual report entitled The State of the World's Children.
The time it took to diagnose children with special needs - up to one year from the child being first identified to being assessed by government experts - should be shortened, she said.
The delay was due to a lack of manpower and a surge in demand as more children are identified because of growing awareness of autism, reading and writing difficulties and speech impediments.
"Children with these conditions are [still] not so easily identified when compared with those who display physical difficulties," Koong said.