For Hong Kong students with special needs, coronavirus pandemic is harming more than just education – it can make their symptoms worse
- Parents struggling to provide adequate learning environments for children who need help from professional educators on a daily basis
- City has more than 57,000 pupils with special needs ranging from ADHD and autism to physical disabilities
Every time Liu asks her six-year-old son to study at home, he snaps, throws things and scratches her.
Their television set and washing machine have been smashed, while their door has been dented after her son threw a chair onto it. She has had both her hands and arms covered with scratches.
Asking to be identified only by her surname, Liu, 40, says her son was diagnosed with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) last year.
She has been taking care of the Primary One pupil at home, as his school in Kwai Fong has remained closed since January because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Living in a public rental housing flat and surviving on her husband’s monthly income of some HK$10,000, the family of four – she has a daughter aged 19 – do not have a computer for her son to study online at home. His teacher sends him printed study materials and homework every two weeks.
But Liu says the materials have either been left untouched or ripped up by her son.