Equip parents to homeschool special-needs children

I read with interest the report “650 more day activity places for adults with disabilities by 2021” (Jan 8), which mentioned that the Autism Association will pilot a programme for caregivers to be trained by professionals to teach their special-needs children independent-living skills.

I believe that we can go further to encourage and equip parents to home-school their special-needs children, with more training from professionals and perhaps financial assistance from the Government.

An official networking site of trained parents can also help them find partners to form a small homeschooling group to help one another.

First, there are insufficient special-needs schools, resulting in long waiting lists.

Second, schools are not able to tailor their syllabus for each child.

The case of Jacob Barnett illustrates the talents we might be ignoring.

Diagnosed with moderate to severe autism, he was studying for a master’s degree in quantum physics at 14 years of age, thanks to his homeschooling.

Third, without the need to go to school, parents have the maximum flexibility and time to send their children for therapy, social enrichment classes and outings.

In other words, their children can get higher-quality education outside the classroom.

Homeschooling is a win-win situation that should be promoted in the interests of all the special-needs children, and of our society as a whole.