Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ15: Facilities and services provided for the deaf-mute

Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hok-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao (in the absence of the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food), in the Legislative Council today (January 18):

Question:

Regarding the policy of "A Society for All" implemented by the Government for the deaf-mute in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the latest number of the deaf-mute in Hong Kong, together with their male to female ratio, age structure and their distribution by districts;

(b) of the details of the facilities and services currently provided for the deaf-mute;

(c) of the work done by the authorities in the past three years to promote and achieve the objective of "A Society for All";

(d) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the policy of "A Society for All"; if so, of the details and outcome of the assessment; and

(e) whether it has studied the relationship between the early achievement of the objective of "A Society for All" and the two factors, i.e. enhancing civic education on fair and friendly treatment of the deaf-mute and improving the services and facilities of the existing centres for the deaf-mute; if so, of the details and findings of the study; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) The Census and Statistics Department conducted a survey on disabled persons in 2000. In its Special Topics Report No. 28, six types of disability were covered - restriction in body movement, seeing difficulty, hearing difficulty, speech difficulty, mental illness and autism. Persons with hearing difficulty and speech difficulty were grouped according to their degree of severity, with details are shown in Annex 1.

The total number of persons with hearing difficulty and speech difficulty can be analysed according to gender, age and area of residence, with details are shown in Annex 2.

(b) The Administration is committed to implementing a comprehensive rehabilitation policy. Facilities and services are provided to suit the special needs of persons with different type(s) and varied degrees of disability.

In general, the deaf-mutes refer to persons with hearing impairment which leads to their loss of speech ability. The provision of facilities and services are thus targeted principally at the hearing impaired. The Administration has been providing social rehabilitation services to the hearing impaired through subvention by the Social Welfare Department to non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Services include:

(i) Early Education and Training Services - being the starting point for pre-school services for hearing impaired children from birth to six years of age. Service centres provide early education and training programmes for these children, with particular emphasis on the caring and training roles by parents/carers.

(ii) Special Child Care Services - providing care and training services to hearing impaired children aged from two to six and their parents. The services aim at developing the abilities of hearing impaired children to the fullest extent through hearing and speech training so as to establish a firm foundation for subsequent education and development.

(iii) Parents Resource Centre - providing assistance and support services for parents of hearing impaired children so that they can help develop the abilities of their children to the fullest. The centre also provides a place for the parents to meet, to share experience and to promote self-help and mutual support.

(iv) Multi Services for Hearing Impaired Persons - providing a full range of social rehabilitation services for the hearing impaired. The services provided include casework and counselling services, sign language interpretation services, ear-mould production and repair services, audiological and speech therapy services.

(v) Social and Recreational Services for Hearing Impaired Persons - providing hearing impaired persons with opportunities to participate in and to organise a variety of activities which meet their social, recreational and developmental needs. Able-bodied persons also participate in these activities. On the other hand, the Integrated Children and Youth Centres serve all young persons, both able-bodied and those with disabilities. Such arrangements aim at promoting "A Society for All" and community integration.

(vi) Employment Services - arranging job placements and job-related training for hearing impaired persons aged 15 or above through the provision of sheltered workshop service, supported employment service, integrated vocational rehabilitation service, on-the-job training services, with a view to enhancing their chances for open employment.

(vii) The Hong Kong Police Force also provides Short Message Service (SMS) for hearing impaired persons to seek emergency assistance whenever necessary.

(c) Our rehabilitation policy aims at building an inclusive society. This can be most effectively achieved through persistent public education on capabilities and needs of people with disabilities (PWDs). Government departments, in partnership with local organisations and NGOs, have worked towards projecting a positive image of the PWDs. Over the past decade, the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau (HWFB) alone has expended over $40 million in promoting the message of "A Society for All". Activities launched include carnivals, open days, variety shows, exhibitions, talks, workshops, seminars, radio/television programmes and broadcast of television announcements of public interest (API) etc. While most of the activities are for PWDs in general, some are specifically for certain well defined PWD groups. In the past three years, HWFB expended more than $6 million in sponsoring over 100 publicity programmes, of which five were for promoting public acceptance of the hearing impaired and showcasing their abilities and talents in various fields.

(d) The Administration reviews the rehabilitation policy and assesses its effectiveness regularly to ensure that PWDs receive the assistance and support they need, in facilitation of their full integration into the community.

A review of the Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme Plan is underway. PWDs, NGOs and PWD self-help groups have been invited to jointly examine current measures and to map out plans for future development. The review also includes an assessment of our policy and work done in promoting and achieving its objective.

It was unanimously agreed in the course of the review that we are in the right direction, and that the public education programs were effective in achieving the desired objective. As to the way forward, it was recommended that we continue with our heightened publicity efforts. As far as possible, we should encourage greater involvement and participation by the third sector (i.e., the business sector, the mass media, etc.) in public education activities.

(e) The Administration shares the view that various positive factors, such as enhancing civic education on fair and friendly treatment of the PWDs and improving existing services and facilities, are crucial to the implementation of rehabilitation policy and social inclusion. The review of the Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme Plan has also discussed in details and explored ways to enforce these factors in policy implementation.

As mentioned above, public education programmes will stress on promoting the message of equality and social inclusion. Regular surveys will be conducted as far as possible to review the effectiveness of our public education efforts. The survey results will form the basis of our future policy review and for the formulation of future public education strategy.

For the improvement of services and facilities for the hearing impaired, the review recommends continuation in the strengthening of community support services for PWDs and their families to improve their quality of life and to realize the goal of social inclusion.

In response to the recommendations of the review, the Social Welfare Department has increased further the number of places at service centres for early education and training for children with special needs. Multi services for hearing impaired persons have also been strengthened. To this end, the Department has, through the Hong Kong Society for the Deaf, set up a social and recreation centre in On Ting Estate, Tuen Mun, to promote social inclusion of PWDs.


Ends/Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:29

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Annex 1 & 2 on LCQ15