Specific Learning Difficulties Hong Kong: What They Are and How Schools Should Support Them

Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD) is the largest SEN category in Hong Kong, representing 42% of all identified SEN students in the public sector — more than 28,000 children. Despite this scale, SpLD remains frequently misunderstood by schools and parents alike. Children with SpLD are often bright, engaged students who struggle with specific academic tasks in ways that look like carelessness or lack of effort to an untrained eye. Getting them the right support requires understanding what SpLD actually is and what schools are required to provide.

What "Specific Learning Difficulties" Covers

SpLD is an umbrella term covering a cluster of neurodevelopmental conditions that affect specific aspects of learning — primarily reading, writing, spelling, and numeracy — without affecting overall intelligence.

In Hong Kong's educational context, the main SpLD categories are:

Dyslexia — the most common SpLD, involving persistent difficulties with accurate and fluent word reading, spelling, and phonological processing. Dyslexia in Chinese is distinct from English dyslexia in important ways: Chinese writing uses logographic characters rather than a phonological alphabet, so difficulties manifest differently. Many children in Hong Kong have dyslexia in both Chinese and English, or more prominently in one.

Dyscalculia — difficulty with number sense, arithmetic, and mathematical reasoning, distinct from general learning difficulties. Less commonly identified in Hong Kong than dyslexia.

Dysgraphia — difficulty with handwriting, letter formation, and written expression that cannot be attributed to motor impairment or low intelligence. In Hong Kong's heavy-writing curriculum, dysgraphia can be severely impactful.

Dyspraxia / Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) — affects motor coordination and planning, impacting both handwriting and physical education, but also organisational and sequencing tasks.

The key characteristic of SpLD is its specificity: the difficulty is in a narrow domain, while the child's cognitive abilities in other areas may be average or well above. This is why SpLD is often missed or dismissed — the child seems capable, so the difficulty is attributed to attitude or effort.

How SpLD Is Identified in Hong Kong Schools

Schools in Hong Kong's public sector are expected to conduct early identification exercises. Primary 1 pupils are screened annually through the EDB's territory-wide exercise, and schools use ongoing assessment data to identify students who may have SpLD.

When a teacher flags persistent difficulties in reading, writing, or numeracy after Tier 1 interventions, the SENCO should arrange further assessment. This typically leads to:

• Screening tools used by trained teachers or the SENCO
• Referral to the school's Educational Psychologist through the School-based Educational Psychology Service (SBEPS)
• In some cases, referral to the Department of Health's Child Assessment Centre for a full psycho-educational assessment

For private assessments, a registered Educational Psychologist can conduct a comprehensive cognitive and academic assessment using standardised tools (such as the WISC-V or WIAT-III) to identify SpLD profiles and make specific recommendations.

The EDB generally recognises clinical assessment reports as valid for two to two and a half years. A current, comprehensive SpLD assessment from a registered EP is one of the strongest tools a parent can bring to a SENCO meeting.

What Schools Should Be Providing for SpLD Students

Under the EDB's 3-Tier Intervention Model and the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, SpLD students should receive targeted support and reasonable accommodations proportionate to the documented severity of their difficulties.

Tier 2 interventions for SpLD commonly include:

• Structured literacy programmes using evidence-based methods (phonics-based reading intervention, character-writing support for Chinese literacy)
• Small-group reading or writing remediation delivered by trained SEN support teachers
• Homework adjustment — reducing the volume of written output required for subjects that are not assessing writing
• Additional time for in-class written tasks

Tier 3 interventions (with IEP) for more significant SpLD should include:

• Individualised literacy or numeracy intervention with measurable goals and review schedules
• Access to assistive technology (text-to-speech, speech-to-text, word prediction) where this supports access to the curriculum
• Specialist input from an EP on an ongoing basis

Reasonable accommodations under the DDO for all SpLD students:

• Extended time in all formal examinations (typically 25% to 33% additional time)
• Separate room or small-group examination settings
• Permission to use assistive technology in assessments where this has been recommended
• Oral alternatives to written assessments where the assessment is measuring content knowledge rather than writing ability
• Access to examination papers with enlarged print or modified layout where perceptual difficulties have been identified

The Critical Distinction: SpLD and Intelligence

One of the most damaging misperceptions about SpLD is the assumption that difficulty with reading or writing means the child is less capable overall. In most SpLD cases, the reverse is true: the cognitive profile shows specific processing difficulties alongside average or above-average reasoning, comprehension, and problem-solving abilities.

When a school treats a dyslexic child as a slow learner, placing them in lower academic tracks based on their reading performance, or when a teacher attributes a child's writing difficulties to insufficient practice at home, they are misreading the evidence. An EP assessment that shows a clear discrepancy between cognitive ability and academic output is direct evidence of this misattribution.

If your child's SpLD assessment shows this pattern, the school should be differentiating between tasks that measure the specific impaired skill (letter formation, word decoding) and tasks that measure content knowledge or reasoning. Grading a history essay primarily on handwriting quality when the child has a documented dysgraphia diagnosis is not reasonable.

Requesting Proper SpLD Support

Start by asking for the written record: what tier is my child at, what interventions are in place, and what measurable outcomes are being tracked? If the answer is vague, you need specific written documentation before the next meeting.

If the school is providing nominal Tier 2 support that consists of large-group homework clubs rather than targeted literacy intervention, put in writing that the current provision does not reflect what EDB guidelines describe as Tier 2 intervention, and request a case conference to review the approach.

If a valid EP assessment recommending specific accommodations has been provided and the school has not implemented them, cite the DDO Code of Practice on Education: "The Code of Practice requires that educational establishments act on valid professional data to provide reasonable accommodations. The attached assessment report, valid until [date], recommends [specific accommodations]. We request confirmation that these accommodations will be in place from [date]."

The Hong Kong Special Ed Advocacy Playbook includes guidance and templates specifically for SpLD advocacy, including how to request accommodation implementation after an EP assessment and how to escalate when schools delay without justification.

The Long View: SpLD and Academic Potential

SpLD does not cap a child's potential. With the right accommodations and interventions in place from primary school, most SpLD students go on to academic and professional success. The accommodations are not a crutch — they are a levelling of the playing field that allows the child's actual abilities to be demonstrated and developed.

What limits potential in Hong Kong is not the diagnosis. It is the years of under-supported schooling during which a child internalises the belief that they are not capable — while being expected to keep pace with a demanding curriculum without the structural adjustments their neurological profile requires. Getting the accommodations formalised early, in writing, with measurable review points, is the most important thing a parent can do.

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