On the 6th, 12th and 13th of August, the 14th Executive Committee of Medical Outreachers successfully hosted the project —「融」夢飛翔: “In Stride with SEN” service. It was made possible by the collaboration with Learning Bridge Association and Live Play Love in the spirit of embracing students with special educational needs as well as fostering understanding and empathy between mainstream and SEN students.

 

Special educational needs (SEN) students are often characterised by neurodivergence or physical disabilities, and are one of the most marginalised and underrepresented communities in Hong Kong. Since most schools do not have the resources to support and empower SEN students, SEN students often opt to attend special schools. While this may seem an efficient allocation of resources, this perpetually creates a divide between “SEN” and “mainstream” students. This lack of integration in education often leads to a lack of communication and understanding between SEN and mainstream students, which may have detrimental and long-lasting impacts on the inclusivity of society to these individuals even after they graduate school. 

 

With the aim of embracing students with special educational needs, promoting inclusion and cultivating the communication skills of both mainstream and SEN students, the 14th Executive Committee of Medical Outreachers Hong Kong successfully launched the project - 「融」夢飛翔:“In Stride with SEN” this year. With most of us graduating from mainstream schools, we may not always be able to get in touch with SEN students in our studies. However, as students in Hong Kong, SEN students form an integral part of our society. As such, we hope to assist mainstream participants in communicating and cooperating with SEN participants and recognize the importance of providing progressive, inclusive support to SEN communities in our city.

 

Our project was delivered in the mode of a daycamp. Mainstream students were taught about SEN students in Hong Kong and proper communication skills on an orientation day on the 6th of August to better prepare them for the day of the service. Two days of service were held on the 12th and 13th of August at CUHK. We are pleased that a total of almost 100 students, 60 from mainstream secondary schools and 35 SEN students, together with their parents collectively participated in our event. On the service days, under the guidance of group facilitators participants played ice-breaking games, CU Hunt with checkpoints of various challenges, and hosted a drama workshop with the participants to foster communication, understanding and integration amongst SEN students. Overall, overwhelmingly positive comments from parents and students have been received. We aim to promote inclusiveness as well as the awareness towards physical disability, impairment and neurodiversity within Hong Kong through this activity. 

 

Informed consent from all participants have been obtained prior to the publication of this page.