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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (October 30):
Question:
It has been reported that, at present, children need to wait for more than a year before arrangements are made for them to receive assessment at the Child Assessment Centres (CACs) under the Department of Health for identifying learning disabilities. After the assessment, most parents are issued with a simple assessment report only, while a small number issued with a detailed report. Regarding the support for children with learning disabilities, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the following statistics in each of the past three years:
(i) the respective numbers of children referred by doctors, schools and other channels to CACs for receiving assessment;
(ii) the average waiting time for children to receive assessment;
(iii) a breakdown, by the type of learning disabilities confirmed after assessment, of the number of children who had received assessment;
(iv) the respective numbers of children issued with the simple and the detailed versions of the assessment report; and
(v) the respective average time between the receipt of assessments by children and the issuance of the simple or detailed report to their parents;
(b) of the criteria adopted by CACs for determining whether to issue the simple or the detailed report;
(c) of the number and percentage of those children with learning disabilities at present in all school-age children in the territory, with a breakdown by type of learning disabilities; and
(d) whether it will consider drawing reference from neighbouring regions (e.g. Taiwan) and introducing legislation to protect the rights and interests of students with learning disabilities; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Upon consultation with the Education Bureau (EDB) and the Department of Health (DH), my reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a)(i) The Child Assessment Service (CAS) under the DH provides comprehensive assessment services and diagnosis for children under 12 with developmental problems (including children with learning disabilities). The assessment team in CAS comprises professional staff from various disciplines. In the past three years, the number of new referral cases received by the six Child Assessment Centres (CACs) under the CAS were 8 418 in 2010, 8 476 in 2011 and 8 773 in 2012.
(ii) Nearly all new cases were seen within three weeks at present, and assessments for over 90% of newly registered cases were completed within six months in the past three years.
(iii) The number of cases newly diagnosed by the six CACs under the CAS as having various kinds of learning disabilities for the past three years is set out in Annex 1.
(iv)(v) and (b) Generally speaking, after receiving assessment in the CAC, a child will be issued with an Assessment Summary on the same day. The assessment team will, having regard to the individual circumstances and needs of the child, send a detailed assessment report to the educational psychologist of EDB or the child's school, or to the relevant professionals of the rehabilitation service unit to which the case has been referred within eight weeks after the assessment. Moreover, parents may make applications to the CAS for the medical reports of their children when necessary. The application fee is HK$560.
(c) In 2012/13 school year, the number of students with different types of special educational needs (SEN) studying in ordinary public sector secondary and primary schools is tabulated in Annex 2.
In the same school year, the number of students, by major types of SEN, studying in special schools is set out in Annex 3.
As the data collected by the EDB covers only the number of students with SEN studying in public sector ordinary schools and special schools (i.e. not including those in non-public sector schools), we are unable to provide the percentage of students with SEN among all school-age children in the territory.
(d) In accordance with the Disability Discrimination Ordinance and the Code of Practice on Education, it is unlawful for educational establishments to discriminate against a person with a disability. As such, all educational establishments are obliged to provide equal educational opportunity for eligible students, including those with SEN. In order words, the existing legal framework in Hong Kong can basically serve as an effective safeguard for the rights of students with SEN. Concerning the proposal for legislation be introduced to protect students with SEN, since different countries or places have different needs and context, we consider that it is more appropriate, at this stage, to explore how support measures for implementing Integrated Education (IE) can be strengthened so that more suitable arrangements can be provided for students. From an educational perspective, it will be more effective for schools to adopt a Whole School Approach to implement IE to improve their culture, policy and measures, which in turn enhances the effectiveness of support for students with SEN.
Ends/Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Issued at HKT 18:03
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