Bulletin No. 2, 2020

Coming Closer at a Distance: Snapshots of CUHK in the pandemic 11 Jasvinda Ng Disability Services Manager, Wellness and Counselling Centre Win Chan Food and nutritional sciences graduand I n the age of COVID, online learning helps us break down the barriers of social distancing. But for some students with special educational needs (SEN), online learning may present hurdles we have never imagined. One of them is Win Chan . Win is a student with hearing impairment and lip reading helps him understand what his teacher or a classmate is saying. Online learning presents difficulties to Win because the screen of the computer monitor is too small, and mask-wearing by teachers and classmates also makes lip reading impossible. ‘I am grateful for the many people in CUHK who have supported me. My fellow classmates are happy to share their notes with me and we also exchange learning tips. All this makes online learning easier,’ Win said. To help students with SEN overcome the obstacles they face, the Wellness and Counselling Centre of the Office of Student Affairs is ready to lend a hand. The Office has in place a one-on-one buddy support scheme and each student in need is assigned a uShiner who offers assistance in studies and other aspects of university life adjustment. Jasvinda Ng , the disability services manager of the Wellness and Counselling Centre, said that the Centre has been working with different university units to explore the development and use of learning aids to improve online learning platforms to fit the needs of students with SEN. ‘What students with SEN need may not be something very high-tech or sophisticated. All they need is collaboration among staff and students who, with a caring heart, offer them the assistance they need in learning during the pandemic,’ she said.