Trials for parents

For schools, it's a collective ordeal. Families are left with individual trials, on top of everything else that's going on with the pandemic. Wong Hoi-man is a mother of two autistic sons. One boy, who is 12-year-old, has normal intelligence and studies at a regular school. The other, who is 8, has mild intellectual disability and attends special school. All of the city's non-tertiary schools suspended classes in late January. The date for classes to reopen has been set back several times.

It's the same issue for every child who attends school but it is especially troubling for SEN children. They need more time to adapt to changes, Wong said. The situation is most evident in her younger son.

The boy, stuck at home for more than two months, lost his temper and cries a lot. Sometimes, he hits himself.