Chapter 8: A School-Based Parent Support Group: Empowering Hong Kong Parents of Children With Disabilities to be Advocates

As the principle of including all students with diverse needs and providing them with equal opportunities to learn emerged decades ago, inclusive education has become a global movement of education reform in many countries. Similar to many parts in the world, the importance of providing services that cater to the individualized needs of students with disabilities and enabling them to be exposed to the same curriculum as their peers without disabilities is strongly emphasized in the Hong Kong (HK) schools (Lian, 2008; Lian, Tse, & Li , 2007). Due to the structure of the educational system in HK, parents are under immense pressure to make sure that their children with disabilities are making appropriate progress in their inclusion classes. Additionally, these parents are in need of information regarding how to assist their children academically at home. However, support for these parents is often limited.