Chief Secretary Carrie Lam launched a pilot scheme for on-site pre-school rehabilitation services today, for children with special needs studying at ordinary kindergartens.
Speaking at the event, Mrs Lam said "early identification, timely intervention" has all along been the Government's policy direction in providing services and support for children with special needs.
The Government has been striving to provide them with suitable rehabilitation, medical and educational support services, and will continue to boost relevant measures to provide all-round support to meet their needs.
This is also in line with the Government’s focus on economic development and improving people's livelihoods within the remaining term of administration, after the constitutional development proposals were vetoed.
To provide services to needy children as early as possible, the Chief Executive announced in the Policy Address that a two-year pilot scheme be launched in 2015-16 to provide on-site rehabilitation training for children with special needs who are studying at ordinary kindergartens.
"The pilot scheme, in terms of its scale and format, is unprecedented in the social welfare sector. A total of 16 social welfare organisations join in the scheme. The Lotteries Fund allocated over $420 million to provide over 2,900 training places covering more than 450 schools," Mrs Lam said.
The non-governmental organisations running the pilot scheme will start offering their services between November and January next year, sending multi-disciplinary service teams to assist children with special needs.
The service teams will also give professional advice to kindergarten teachers and childcare workers, and will provide support for parents in fostering a positive attitude and developing effective skills in raising their children with special needs.
