Who we are...

The Children's Institute of Hong Kong is a private, non profit charitable organization established in 2003. Since its inception TCI has been offering quality educational support services for children who cannot learn in a mainstream environment as well as providing academic and behavioral support for children in typical education settings. Starting with just one classroom, two students, and the vision of bringing to Hong Kong the most effective teaching methods for children with Autism; TCI became the first registered school (EMB school registration June 2005) in Hong Kong set up solely to educate children who fall within the Autistic Spectrum. The Children's Institute has continued to grow and expand its services. Recently, The Children's Institute relocated from its initial school site in Repulse Bay to its new location in Kennedy Town.

Staff

Managing Director:
Dr. Jadis Blurton

Dr. Blurton is the Director of The Children’s Institute and its sister institution, The Harbour School. She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the United States, and a Registered Psychologist in Hong Kong where she has practiced since 1996. In addition to her training as a clinical psychologist, Dr. Blurton has a Doctorate in Developmental Psychology and Master’s Degrees in both Psychology and Special Education. As an educator, parent and psychologist, she has worked with children for over thirty years.

Prior to coming to Hong Kong, Dr. Blurton worked in a number of settings, teaching at the University of California and California State University for several years as well as practicing clinically and directing a children's diagnostic clinic in West Virginia. Upon moving to Hong Kong, she founded Therapy Associates, one of Hong Kong’s most prestigious psychological firms. She continues to serve as a consultant to many international schools in Hong Kong and as an Advisor to FOCUS (Focus on Children’s Understanding in Schools).

Supervisor:
Ming Tang

Ming has a few years of working experience in TCI. In 2007, she graduated with a Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis for Special Education (ABA) from Pennsylvania State University, USA, which was approved by Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. (BACB). Ming completed her intensive practicum. During her independent fieldwork, she was supervised by Dr. Claire Egan, BCBA. She is currently a candidate of Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst (BCABA).

Ming also attends conferences, workshops and presentations from PhD level speakers to increase her knowledge and to update and improve her skills in this field. She is enthusiastic to work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and sees doing ABA and working with children as her lifetime career.

Ming supervises and trains the teaching staff. She consults with staff regarding behavioral and teaching strategies that are ABA based and writes/updates the academic and behavioral programs of the students according to their current skills and needs.

Head Teacher:
Samantha Tsoi

Samantha is a head teacher at TCI. She held a Master Degree in Education and graduated from the University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich, England. Samantha loves working with children and had some experiences in teaching mainstream classroom as well as running one-on-one program with TCI students. She manages a classroom with other teachers and students and is a leader of group activities. She works with other teachers as a team and to provide support and help when it is necessary.

Assistant Behavior Analysts:
Kevin Lam
Wendy Yu
Veronica Pang
Ankie Tsang

Assistant Behavior Analysts provide 1:1 instruction to children in aged 3-11, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Their duties included:

• Implementation of long term goals individualized for each student
• Measurement of student performance and the achievement of reliable measurement as calibrated by a supervisor
• Application of behavioral education tactics to teaching
• Accuracy in following a decision-making protocol based on graphic displays of student performance
• Assistance in solving instructional problems using tactics drawn from the behavior analytic literature

Speech therapist

Jacque Gerard is the speech pathologist on staff at TCI. Jacqueline M. Gerard graduated from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, with a Masters Degree in Speech Language Pathology. Jacque is licensed in Hong Kong and is a member of the Hong Kong Association of Speech Therapists. She holds a California Speech Language Pathologist License and a Clinical Certificate of Rehabilitation and is a current member of both the American Speech and Hearing Association and the California Speech and Hearing Association. Jacque works with children and young adults with speech disorders, language disorders, developmental delay and learning disabilities.

She provides speech assessments and consultations.