Family Life Education Series
Mutual Support: Special Needs Families
The First Sound of "Daddy" from My Son

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In the past three to four years, the Welfare Service Group of the Personnel Services and Staff Relations Branch has provided articles on various topics of child-rearing, youth problems in the 21st Century, and promotion of family harmony, etc. In the coming year, we will focus on special groups within the Force in our promotion of the spirit of "CARE & CONCERN".

The first group is our "Self-help Group of Parents with Special Needs Children". The group originated from two support groups for parents of special needs children, which started in the NTN Regional Welfare Office back in 2001. These parents are all raising a special need child at home with physical or mental limitations. The support group met on a monthly basis with group meetings for a period of six months. Due to the limitation of child-care settings, most of the group meetings were held at the Fanling Parents Resource Centre in 2002 and Tai Hang Tung Parents Resource Centre of the Heep Hong Society in 2004.

Following the conclusion of the 2004 support group meetings, a core group of members expressed their wish of maintaining support and sharing the spirit with other Force members who have similar concern. As a result, the "Self-help Group of Parents of Special Needs Children" was established later in 2004. In our coming articles, these parents will tell you their first-hand experiences of their roles as "carers".

"Everyone in my family was ecstatic over the birth of our second child. My nightmare began when my wife brought my son home after a consultation in a health clinic. My son was 10 months old and was diagnosed as being deaf. I was devastated. I talked to various doctors, hoping that someone would tell me something different. But eventually I accepted the reality and my son was given a 'Cochlear Implant Surgery'.

"Upon reflection, my wife and I were very sad when we looked at this innocent child living in a quiet and lonely world. My heart ached when I saw his smile but could not utter a word. It got worse before it got better. After the operation, his head was bandaged and his facial expression showed the amount of pain he went through. We had a feeling that people all around us shook their heads as if they were wondering what 'terrible' parents we had been, who did not mind the child properly. Deep down I wondered myself: What have I done to deserve this happening to my child?

"The operation went well and the doctors' words meant encouragement to us all. We were told that my boy should gain 70 per cent of his hearing after the operation. Speech and school training started gradually and finally at around the age of four, though in a not exactly clear sound, my son was able to utter "daddy" for the first time. My wife and I were in tears in sharing this moment of truth that we would not forget for the rest of our lives. At that moment, I could flashback on everything that took place for the four long years we went through as a family: my wife quitted her job and I worked long hours to attend special training with him after my duties.

"Participating in the support groups gave me strength to carry on my special journey of parenthood. Writing and sharing my story with you enlighten me. You would not know how important mutual support is until you have experienced that yourself."

Choy Chai