Building bridges: Hong Kong school offers all-round education to pupils with intellectual disabilities, with plans to create Lego playground
- Mother Barsha Gurung says Rhenish Church Grace School offers her son Jebson opportunities to learn beyond standard education, such as sports and social activities
- School undertaking project to build inclusive Lego playground to help pupils with autism and build bridges with rest of community
Barsha Gurung said she experienced first-hand the difficulties of raising a child with special needs in Hong Kong when her son Jebson was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at 28 months old.
A member of the city’s Nepali community, the mother said the topic of physical and intellectual disabilities was not something widely discussed among her peers, adding to her difficulties because they did not empathise or understand her child’s condition.
“After we learned about his diagnosis, our extended family started living together so more people, like my sister, could support me in raising my son,” she said.
But Gurung said she was fortunate enough to receive help from social workers and her family to find a school for her son, now 8 years old, that understood his needs, pointing her to Rhenish Church Grace School once he finished kindergarten.
The school provides an all-round education to students aged six to 18 with moderate intellectual disabilities and special education needs (SEN), aiming to nurture the personal development of pupils through in-class learning and a range of out-of-classroom activities.
