I READ the letter, 'Don't forget special-needs children in revamp' (my paper, Feb 3).

I support the views expressed in the letter by Mrs V. Srinivasan, in which she hoped that special-needs officers (SNOs) would be deployed to all mainstream schools.

My son is in Primary 5 in a mainstream school.

When he was in Primary 3, he was the victim of frequent bullying. Being a special- needs child, he did not know how to handle the attacks. One day, he cried as he could not find his pencil case, because his classmates had taken it.

His teacher wept when she met me, as she couldn't imagine how a special-needs child like my son could still be subjected to bullying by his classmates.

She said she was sorry because she was unable to find out who the bully was as she had to handle a class of 40 pupils.

I was very touched by the teacher's kindness and acceptance of my son's predicament. Not long after the incident, a special-needs officer was deployed in my son's school, and she solved the bullying problemmy son was facing.

He is now very happy to go to school every day, and has received his teachers and classmates' understanding and support.

I thank the Ministry of Education for introducing special- needs officers in mainstream schools in recent years.

As a member of the school's parental-support group, I can see that SNOs and teachers have done an excellent job in helping special- needs pupils fit into the mainstream education system.

However, with an increasing number of such children entering regular schools, I hope that more SNOs will be made available to mainstream schools, so that special-needs children will get the support they need.

Ms Yvonne Tai

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