From being to becoming
Social work professor develops first-of-its-kind pedagogy to help locals with intellectual disabilities set life goals and achieve them
Having goals that hold personal meaning and taking steps to achieve them, a little at a time, is key to a happy and fulfilling life. Phyllis Wong, assistant professor in the Department of Social Work, has developed a group-based approach to instil self-determination in Chinese-speaking locals with intellectual disabilities. The method improves their life management skills through step-by-step, systematic training in goal setting and attaining.
Since 2020, Wong has conducted a randomised controlled study to evaluate the pedagogy. She held an online sharing session based on this research on 24 June, drawing upwards of 640 parents, disability practitioners, special school teachers and workers, and social work students and teachers.
In the session, Wong and her research team introduced the approach and reported the research findings. Wong Siu-yin, a participant in the study, described how she had achieved her goal of teaching the Zentangle artistic method with the help of the project. The warm and informative meet-up also featured sharings from a parent and social worker, who reflected on their takeaways from the study.
The session ended on a high note—participants found the stories inspiring and the intervention useful. A flurry of practitioners sought the full protocol of the latter, hoping to include it in their services.
More details of the group-based intervention for the intellectually disabled can be found at https://cuhkselfdeterminat.wixsite.com/sd-of-pwid.
