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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1979
TRIAL SCHEME FOR DISABLED CHILDREN GOING WELL
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AN EXPERIMENTAL SCHEME, WHICH ENABLES DISABLED CHILDREN TO MIX WITH NORMAL CHILDREN IN DAY NURSERIES AS PART OF THE IR SOCIAL REHABILITATION PROCESS, HAS BEEN GOING WELL.
A 10TH NURSERY HAS JUST JOINED THE SCHEME, UNDER WHICH SPECIAL UNITS ARE SET UP IN GOVERNMENT-SUBVENTED DAY NURSERIES FOR CHILDREN AGED TWO TO SIX YEARS WITH MINOR DISABILITIES.
THE TRIAL SCHEME WAS INTRODUCED LAST YEAR BY THE SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT AND VOLUNTARY AGENCIES TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR MILD-GRADE DISABLED CHILDREN TO MIX WITH NORMAL CHILDREN OF THEIR AGE IN A HOMELY SETTING.
MR. LAU KAI-CHUEN, HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT'S CHILD CARE CENTRES ADVISORY INSPECTORATE, SAID TODAY PARENTS WITH NORMAL CHILDREN IN THE PARTICIPATING NURSERIES HAD GENERALLY ACCEPTED THE IDEA OF THE SCHEME.
+ALTHOUGH THEY APPEARED TO HAVE SOME RESERVATION DURING THE INITIAL STAGE OF THE SCHEME, THEY NOW REALISE THAT INTEGRATION WITH DISABLED CHILDREN WOULD NOT AFFECT THEIR OWN CHILDREN,+ HE SAID.
MR. LAU DESCRIBED THIS ATTITUDE AS MOST ENCOURAGING AND POINTED OUT THAT DISABLED CHILDREN IN THE NURSERIES HAD BEEN WELL ACCEPTED BY THE IR NORMAL COUNTERPARTS.
THE LATEST DAY NURSERY JOINING THE SCHEME IS THE ON YAN NURSERY RUN BY TSUNG TSIN MISSION AT UPPER PAK TIN ESTATE, BLOCK 16, BRINGING TO 10 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPATING NURSERIES, HE SAID..
+INITIALLY, EACH PARTICIPATING NURSERY ADMITS SIX DISABLED CHILDREN, WHO ARE EITHER MILD-GRADE MENTALLY RETARDED, SLIGHTLY PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED, OR SLIGHTLY IMPAIRED IN SPEECH, HEARING OR SIGHT.
+ADMISSIONS ARE BY WAY OF REFERRALS MADE BY WELFARE AGENCIES OR RELEVANT GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH AND THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS, HE SAID.
MR. LAU SAID THOSE NURSERIES JOINING THE SCHEME WERE ALLOCATED EXTRA SUBVENTION TO MEET ADDITIONAL STAFF COST.
IN ADDITION, HE SAID, GRANTS FROM THE LOTTERIES FUND ARE AVAILABLE FOR NECESSARY STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS AS WELL AS FOR THE PROVISION OF SPECIAL FACILITIES AND STAFF TRAINING.
+ IF THE SCHEME PROVES SUCCESSFUL, IT IS HOPED THAT THIS SPECIAL SERVICE COULD BE EXPANDED ON A LARGER SCALE TO BENEFIT MORE DISABLED CHILDREN, HE SAID.
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