When Hinson Sung, a Primary 3 student, underwent an assessment at the Department of Health’s Child Assessment Centre, its report showed that he had weak postural control, under-developed self-care skills and slow handwriting.
He was then referred to Kowloon Hospital to receive occupational therapy.
Hinson’s mother was very worried about his development.
“My son usually writes slowly when doing homework,” she said. “And he is weak in dictation. Of course, I was unhappy at first. But I hope he can seize the opportunity to improve.”
Therapeutic training
The department provides different types of training for schoolchildren with handwriting problems, including a session where cards are used to improve understanding of Chinese word structure.
Patients practice writing with various tools and are also trained to develop their fine motor skills.
In one exercise Hinson can improve his co-ordination skills while sitting on a swing.
Marked improvement
Kowloon Hospital Advanced Practice Occupational Therapist Sandy Pang said Hinson has advanced dramatically thanks to the training.
“He showed significant improvement, including in his Chinese handwriting speed.
“For other parts like coordination, strength, and endurance, initially, he lagged behind his same-age peers by about one and a half years. But after a year of training, the deviation became less.”
For his part, Hinson said the training had helped him a lot.
“Now I know how to distinguish different radicals of Chinese words. I hope my Chinese test scores and dictation can continue to improve.”
Mrs Sung added that she hoped her son would keep improving.
Upward trend
Hospital Authority Coordinating Committees & Central Committees of Grade (Occupational Therapy) Co-chair Dora Chan highlighted that there has lately been an upward trend in the number of referrals. Statistics from occupational therapy departments show that in the last three years, they have increased by 10 to 15%.
“As occupational therapists in pediatrics, we not only treat physical problems, we also treat cases with mental health problems,” she said. “Mental health problems are those like autism, attention deficit disorder and depression.”
She urged parents not to get unduly anxious, but added that professional evaluation should be performed as soon as developmental impairments are identified in early life.
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