Welcome to Heep Hong Society's website.

In the past year, we have joyfully celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Society with our stakeholders, taking this opportunity to reflect upon the progress of our services. Whenever I meet with different sectors, I am always touched by the heartfelt care extended towards the Society.

As the collective strength of all parties comes together to illuminate our path forward, we also stand by each family and provide mutual support in navigating challenges along their journey.With the regularisation of the Tier 1 Support Services and its integration with the On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services (OPRS), our supporting teams have expanded to 12, serving over 100 kindergartens. To further enhance our services, we will launch a pilot programme for Al-Powered On-site Pre-school Rehabilitation Services, equipping frontline staff to better support students and their parents by applying Al technology within OPRS. Beyond academic learning, we also advocate for the cultivation of diverse talents in children with SEN. Our Talent School has established "STARs" Talent School in Yuen Long to offer various talent training programmes, encouraging children and young people to develop their sporting and artistic potential. To meet the needs of the times, our youth support services are constantly evolving - besides ongoing assistance for SEN youth in workplace integration, we actively engage with employers and corporate partners, practicing what we preach by hiring young trainees to promote inclusive employment together.

Having walked alongside caregivers for years, we are keenly aware of the intense pressure they experience, which drives us to innovate new initiatives. We have collaborated with the Department of Social Work at Hong Kong Baptist University on Project P.S.I. (Parental Stress Intervention): Strategies for Addressing Parental Stress in Preschool Settings, which has yielded encouraging results - over 90% of parents experienced significant improvements in their negative emotions following cognitive behavioural therapy interventions, and we aim to implement this intervention model broadly within our parent support services in pre-school environments. Additionally, our PACT® programme, designed to aid young children with autism, has also garnered positive feedback since its launch. The new home support service of the programme is particularly responsive, with parents reporting that it effectively facilitated their gradual engagement with their autistic children. The one-on-one guidance from course instructors also gives caregivers a sense of companionship along the way.

We have been actively collaborating with universities - in partnership with the Department of Psychology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, we launched the Chinese version of The Transporters app to help children with Autism Spectrum Disorder improve their emotional recognition skills. Moreover, we are working with the Centre for Clinical Research and Biostatistics of the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong to apply Automatic Retinal Image Analysis (ARIA) as an Al-powered screening tool for autism in pre-school children. We will continue to support research efforts aimed at facilitating the early identification of children with autism, thereby timely and appropriate training can be delivered。

The launch of our multiple innovative and caring services is made possible by the robust support from various sectors. The 27th Great Chefs of Hong Kong made a grand return to the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, bringing together over 50 master chefs from leading hotels and restaurants to present delectable dishes to over a thousand donors. The second Heep Hong Charity Sports Fun Day held last year also gathered numerous corporates participating in football and basketball charity matches. All proceeds from these two major events were donated to our Parents Resource Centres and Children and Youth Training Fund respectively to support children with special needs from low-income families in accessing timely professional therapy, while also conveying societal care for them.

Our work has never been a solitary endeavour. We are deeply grateful to our team for their unwavering dedication and seamless collaboration in supporting children with SEN and their families. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to all our partners whose cooperation has made this a fruitful year. Looking ahead, we hope to continue this partnership and mutual support across sectors to create a brighter future for SEN children, youth and their caregivers.

Rachel Leung
Chief Executive Officer
Heep Hong Society