XN000022-1985-09-16 — Page 7

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1985

+WE HOPE TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 60 PLACES IN 1986/87 AND BY THE END OF THE DECADE TO HAVE A TOTAL OF 950 PLACES, MRS CHAN SAID.

HANDICAPPED CHILDREN BETWEEN THE AGES OF TWO AND SIX WHO COULD NOT BE INTEGRATED INTO AN ORDINARY CHILD CARE CENTRE COULD ATTEND SPECIAL CHILD CARE CENTRES.

THERE WERE AT PRESENT 11 SPECIAL CHILD CARE CENTRES WITH A TOTAL CAPACITY OF 480 PLACES TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT HANDICAPS.

+IN 1986/87 THERE SHOULD BE AN ADDITIONAL 204 PLACES. BY THE END OF THE DECADE TOTAL PROVISION SHOULD REACH 1 400 PLACES, SHE SAID.

MILDLY DISABLED CHILDREN COULD BE CARED FOR AND TRAINED IN AN ORDINARY CHILD CARE CENTRE.

THERE WERE AT PRESENT 484 PLACES IN ORDINARY CHILD CARE CENTRES FOR CHILDREN WITH MINOR DISABILITIES, AND IT WAS PLANNED TO INCREASE PROVISION BY 120 PLACES EACH YEAR.

WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, AN EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT TO DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED PROGRAMME IN KINDERGARTENS FOR LESS SEVERELY HANDICAPPED CHILDREN AGED THREE TO SIX WOULD BE INTRODUCED THIS YEAR.

WHILE THERE WERE NO PRECISE FIGURES TO THE NUMBER OF MENTALLY RETARDED PEOPLE IN HONG KONG, A TOTAL OF 15 800 HAD REGISTERED WITH THE CENTRAL REGISTRY OF DISABLED PERSONS.

IF AN ESTIMATE WAS MADE BASED ON THE EXPERIENCE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE MENTALLY HANDICAPPED POPULATION HERE WOULD BE ABOUT 106 000.

+THESE FIGURES MAY SEEM ALARMING, BUT IT IS ESTIMATED THAT ALL BUT 4 000 OF THEM CAN BE TRAINED TO ACHIEVE SOME DEGREE OF INDEPENDENCE WITH THE MINIMUM OF ASSISTANCE AND SUPERVISION, SHE SAID.

THE DEPARTMENT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROVISION OF SHELTERED WORKSHOPS AND WORK ACTIVITY CENTRES WHICH PROVIDED VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION TO THE HANDICAPPED.

THE SHELTERED WORKSHOP SERVICE WAS STARTED IN THE LATE 1950S, AND THE FIRST SHELTERED WORKSHOP EXCLUSIVELY FOR MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1973 BY ST. JAMES' SETTLEMENT.

TODAY THERE ARE 2 360 SHELTERED WORKSHOP PLACES THROUGHOUT THE TERRITORY, AND BY THE END OF THIS FINANCIAL YEAR TOTAL PROVISION SHOULD INCREASE TO 2 780 PLACES.

/+IF GOOD