Hong Kong autism charity says new teams set up to aid pupils’ move from school to adult life have ‘unclear’ scope of operations
- Macy Chong of the To Dream Charity Foundation says parents and carers desperate for extra support when their children leave ‘safety net’ of school to join adult world
- Chong adds parents not trained or equipped to take up all roles carried out by schools after their children leave education
Macy Chong Po-king, the chairwoman of the To Dream Charity Foundation, said parents and carers needed more support, despite last October’s policy address commitment to set up teams to liaise with special needs pupils at least six months before they finished school.
The teams, set up at a cost of HK$110 million (US$14 million), were designed to smooth pupils’ transition to life in the adult world in the wake of a string of family tragedies.
“Once the children leave the safety net of special schools, the carers need to take up all the roles that the school was playing, but this is a huge challenge because we did not receive any professional training before,” Chong said.
“Our children desperately need support with learning to be part of the community, finding a job, and contributing to society on their own, especially when the waiting time for residential care is up to more than a decade.”
