Published on Aug 18, 2005

The number of “special” children with learning disabilities, Down’s syndrome and autism in Thailand is on the rise, recently surpassing the one million mark, a Thai expert said yesterday.

About 10 per cent of the student population – or 1.2 million pupils – fall under this group, said Dr Padoong Arrayavinyoo, head of the Special Education Department, Srinakharinwirot University’s Education Faculty.

He urged the authorities to pay more attention to the need for special education.

Children with learning disabilities who have difficulty with reading and writing, form about 5 per cent of students. The number of autistic children was also found to be increasing at an alarming rate yearly.

Children with Down’s syndrome account for between 4 and 5 per cent of the school-aged children, he said.

Although the Education Ministry has regulations concerning special children’s welfare, they do not deal with the educational aspect, he said.

The National Education Act of 1999 deals with education for children, but only mentioned the needs of special children in a later amendment.

He urged authorities to boost special education regulations, especially to provide teaching assistants at schools where normal and special pupils attend the same classes.

From January 9-10, 2006, the department will organise the “Third International Conference on Special Education” at the Grand Hotel on Ratchadapisek Road. The conference with workshops, lectures, panel discussion and exhibitions will highlight new strategies to promote diversity in education.

The number of special children globally is also on the rise, especially in more developed countries, Padoong said.

Researchers found that when a country becomes more advanced, the number of special children also rises.