A third of Hong Kong children have special educational needs – and the city is failing them
- Lack of understanding and opportunities confines these children to a future of low-level jobs
- Government has pledged to do more to integrate them into education system, but experts fear it will not be enough
As a primary school student, Jason Li Mau-wah could not keep still while his classmates sat and listened attentively in class.
He would entertain himself at the back of the classroom by playing, moving around and drawing on the floor.
“My teachers had given up on me,” says Li, now 36.
When he was eight, Li was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
An audit report published earlier this year showed that one in three pupils in Hong Kong aged eight or older were identified as having special educational needs (SEN) for the first time in the previous school year.
But many children with learning difficulties or similar developmental disorders are unable to get access to early intervention due to a shortage in support services, leading to very limited career prospects for them later in life.
There is also a lack of occupation guidance and training, leaving them with unstable jobs and incomes. Many of them inevitably end up with low-level jobs, such as working as floor staff in restaurants or as handlers at storage facilities, due to the lack of employment opportunities that take their needs into consideration.