According to the definition of the Education Bureau, children with special educational needs (SEN) include dyslexia, autism, developmental delay, etc. The Community Ancestral Organization Association conservatively estimates that there will be at least 82,000 children diagnosed with SEN in Hong Kong in 2020, including about 11,000 pre-school children. Children and 71,000 school-aged children, the number of suspected cases far exceeds that.
The association is following up with about 600 families of SEN children. A few days ago, they successfully interviewed 311 families with a questionnaire survey, reflecting that during the epidemic, they were under great pressure, worried about their children's academic performance, and had been trapped for a long time. Some even had suicidal thoughts.
The association recommends that schools and shops continue to provide online support services, and promises to make up for the affected training classes for SEN children after the epidemic has eased, so as to reduce parents' worries, and the government will review the current school-based model in the long run.
Mrs. Chen was emotionally stressed during the fifth wave of the epidemic. At the age of 8, her son suffered from SEN anxiety, and the two became increasingly conflicted. In the end, Mrs. Chen chose to take her son to the park to relieve the stress.
(Photo by Cai Zhengbang)
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Huang Wenjie, director of the community ancestral organization, said that according to the organization's earlier questionnaire survey, more than 80% of the caregivers suffered from insomnia, and some even had suicidal thoughts.
Among the interviewees, 70% of the caregivers themselves need follow-up consultation in the psychiatric department, mainly because they are mothers.
The source of most parents' stress is their children's academic performance.
Due to the suspension of classes or switching to online classes, it is difficult for SEN children to focus on studying on a computer, tablet or mobile phone. Many parents report that the effect of online classes is far from that of face-to-face classes. For other reasons, I am worried that my children will not keep up with their learning progress, and their grades will be worse in the future.
Caregivers worry about children's emotional and behavioral problems, and SEN children have more challenging behaviors and emotions than before the fifth wave.
Some neighbors reported that they did not dare to go out for more than ten days, and they fought with children trapped and beasts. Children in subdivided houses lacked space for activities. Conflicts and conflicts between the two generations increased significantly. In the past, when children returned to school, mothers could rest, buy food and cook. Housework, now the 24-hour care pressure is concentrated on mom, who is basically on the verge of collapse.
In the past, schools or workshops would provide relevant training or support to SEN children and their caregivers, but now many support programs have been switched to online or even suspended due to the epidemic, so many caregivers are under great pressure and poor mental condition.
According to the survey, about 30-40% of families with SEN children are diagnosed with the new crown virus disease. The situation is very common, and there is also a lack of materials at home. Maintaining services to support the neighborhood is a challenge for many NGOs. Currently, half of the colleagues in the community organization association have been diagnosed. Rapid antigen test kits, medicines and disinfectants, and an online support group to support mothers and children in learning.
Huang Wenjie hopes that even if physical activities are suspended during the epidemic, schools or workshops should use online support activities to help caregivers. Many parents say that participating in online parenting workshops can also help their emotions, or establish mutual support groups for parents so that they can express their care. Children's stress, communicate how to deal with children's challenging behaviors.
All parties should give parents confidence that the services missing during the epidemic will be made up for their children after the epidemic, and parents do not need to worry about their children's academic performance in the future, thereby reducing feelings of helplessness and anxiety.
She pointed out that compared with preschool support, the government has always been seriously insufficient in supporting SEN children at the primary and secondary levels.
School-age children mainly attend mainstream schools. The government adopts a "school-based" support model, providing support according to the number and level of SEN children in schools, but the service is not in place.
In fact, there are many types of SEN, and different trainings are provided according to the age and level of children. Taking homework tutoring classes as an example, children with hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities need one-on-one homework tutoring.
Some training is less offered in the school, such as physical therapy, muscle training and so on.
The training courses provided by non-profit organizations for school-aged children must be self-financing and cost 300 to 800 yuan, which may cost several thousand yuan a month. The median income of the interviewed households is 15,000 yuan, which is simply unaffordable.
The association recommended that the government increase subsidized services to service providers, and extend the Social Welfare Department’s “Subsidized Pre-school Rehabilitation Services”, “Learning and Training Grants for Children Waiting for Subsidized Pre-school Rehabilitation Services” and the “Pilot Scheme for On-School Pre-school Rehabilitation Services” to School-aged children, a multi-pronged approach to improve support for the school-age stage.
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