Staff story
Hello all – I am from Hong Kong; the dot located in South China. Being an ex-British colony, you can see Chinese culture crashes with the west there. For example, tri-axle double-decker buses, in their thousands that is made mostly by British manufacturers, and a structured and often sophisticated transport network – which unfortunately is one of my major hobby.
My childhood in Hong Kong was an endless negative spiral. I attended school to get bullied; I get home to find myself struggling to do homework and not making sense of things; I get scolded by my parents for my poor academic performance… They decided to send me to particularly Northern Ireland, as the tuition fees are much lower than mainland UK, to get away from a toxic, competitive education environment of Hong Kong. They say, “You must not pose yourself in any way that tells people you are weird (has autism)”.
But the teachers saw me struggling in school, and my hobby does give away a lot, so my school decided to refer me to the local CAMHS to get support and a diagnosis.
My parents were absolutely petrified having a diagnosis of autism may equal to dismissal from my school unless they agree to provide me support so that I can continue my education in Northern Ireland; The clinical psychologist put this extra letter of assurance and sent it to Hong Kong alongside my autism diagnosis report: “…his diagnosis is otherwise confidential. Once he leaves school, he will not be obliged to inform others of it unless he wishes to. It should not hinder young people in achieving goals such as university and successful careers…”
12
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator