PLEASE HELP! Special needs schools in Hong Kong

[Molie]

Hi there! We really hope someone here can help us out. We are a Dutch family living in The Netherlands at the moment but will be relocating to either Shanghai or Hong Kong late 2010/early 2011 for at least 5 years assignment.

We have an infant daughter and a son who is now 3 years old. Our boy was diagnosed with autism and sensory integration disorder just a few weeks ago and is developmentally delayed. We are not sure yet if is he mentally impaired as well, IQ wise. Here in The Netherlands he has been going to a special needs school 4 days a week for a few months now. As it is very difficult to find sufficient information over the internet, we were hoping to get in touch with other (expat) parents of young children with autism and/or other mental/learning disabilities. We feel so lost and overwhelmed at the moment!

We are in desparate need of information regarding special needs schools and therapies suited for our son:

- Can anyone PLEASE give us the name and contact info of at least one "special needs" school for young expat/English speaking children in Hong Kong?

- Or perhaps the name(s) contact info of English speaking autism specialists/therapists?

- Are there enough good resources (schooling, therapists) available for these (young) children or would it be better to relocate to Shanghai instead? Anyone here who might kow what the resources are like in Shanghai?

Any advice or information is greatly appreciated, thank you so much!

Best wishes from two worried parents,

Han & Mo
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[banane76]

Hi, I am a massage therapist and I work at a clinic that is partnered with another clinic called SPOT which is a team of physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists specialized in pediatric physiotherapy. I don't know anything about schools for children with special needs but if you do need help in the learning and sensory area, this team of therapists are pretty great! This clinic is part of a bigger physio clinic called Sport and Spinal Physiotherapists. I don't have their info on me as they have just joined our clinic space, but their website is Sports and Spinal Physiotherapy Centres The main physio that will be working with children is Mary? I just met her the other night but didn't catch her last name. Best of luck!

[Molie]

Hi, I am a massage therapist and I work at a clinic that is partnered with another clinic called SPOT which is a team of physiotherapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists specialized in pediatric physiotherapy. I don't know anything about schools for children with special needs but if you do need help in the learning and sensory area, this team of therapists are pretty great! This clinic is part of a bigger physio clinic called Sport and Spinal Physiotherapists. I don't have their info on me as they have just joined our clinic space, but their website is Sports and Spinal Physiotherapy Centres The main physio that will be working with children is Mary? I just met her the other night but didn't catch her last name. Best of luck!

Thanks so much, we will definitely looking into this clinic, sounds great!

[mumsy]

Hi. Please take a look at the following websites.

The Child Development Centre at Matilda

The Rainbow Project

Watchdog ??? - Early Learning and Development Centre

The SCMP usually publishes a good schools guide every year which details Special Educational Needs - I think it comes out in June and is available online.

[mumsy]

PS. My son has some developmental delays/sensory issues due to his congenital heart defect. He has recently started speech/occupational therapy and we can already see progress being made. He is in mainstream education but needs to repeat the year.

[snagito]

The Harbour School

I think it is mainstream as well as special needs. Lovely staff and I am sure they will be helpful if you get in touch with them.

Good luck with your move!

[tinks]

ESF have very good special needs provisions; they follow the British Curriculum. Look at Special Educational Needs | English Schools Foundation

Where possible they will try to keep your son in mainstream schooling as their special needs school in Kowloon is for children with severe physical and mental disabilities.

HTH

[Mergina]

Hello Molie,

I do not know much about special needs schools in Shanghai, but I know quite a bit special needs resources here in Hong Kong.

I have a 4 year old son who has development delay and he goes twice a week to a special needs nursery at Watchdog Early Learning and Development Centre. Watchdog is a charity and it runs group sessions (5-6 children with 2 special needs teachers) which last for 3 hours. It is a private programme, but subsidized by the government, so the monthly fee is $4000, which also covers 45 min of ST, OT and PT sessions. Your child can stay in this programme until he is 6 years old.

Here is a comprehensive review of special needs services (in English) provided in Hong Kong:
http://www.watchdog.org.hk/upload/Fi...vicesEng08.pdf

I think a good starting point would be to contact Stella Wong, who is a director of Watchdog and to put your child on a waiting list before you even arrive to Hong Kong.

My son also gets 3 ABA sessions a week through Autism Recovery Network. A therapist comes to your house for 3 hours per session, which costs HK$750 (per session).

There are are also "normal" day nurseries which are special needs "friendly". You can see their list in the review above. You most likely would have to pay for a shadow.

I hope it helps.