Children with special need

My wife and I were eating at a food court in Hung Hom.  I noticed there was a family of 4 sitting on the opposite side of the table.  There was a boy of roughly 10 years old and a girl perhaps 2 years younger.  The parents were feeding the children.  I thought it was a bit indulgent since the children seemed to be of an age when they should be able to eat by themselves.  But I didn’t want to pry or to stare. 

Suddenly, a hand reached across the table to grab my water cup, spilling some of the water.  I was startled and instinctively reached out to steady the cup.  The parents reached out to stop the boy, and started to apologise.  

It was only then that I realised that the boy seemed mentally handicapped.  He was not able to speak and only made occasional single syllable sounds.  He could not hold a spoon or fork properly.  Apparently he had finished his cup of water; that was why he reached for mine.  He did not seem to have a clear sense of private property.  The father, on the far left, seemed to be responsible for feeding the girl, sitting in the near left; while the mother, on the far right, was responsible for the boy, on the near right.  More than once, the boy grabbed the girl’s food and tried to stuff it in his mouth, but ended up spilling the food.  The father got a bit upset and scolded the boy, saying that he did not deserve to eat because he spilled the food.  The boy did not show any sign that he felt guilty.  I suspected that the boy had the mental age of only 1-2.  The girl seemed to be similar, although she seemed to be in better self control, or perhaps she was just more timid.  

The father watched his watch several times.  Then he said the time was almost up and they’d better get going.  And they left.  

I suspect it is rather unusual to have 2 children with special needs in the same family.  Was it hereditary?  Something in the genes, perhaps?

Even though the father scolded the boy for grabbing and spilling the food, I got a feeling that the parents do love the children.  They wore clean clothes.  They looked healthy, neither too thin nor too fat.  The parents fed the children with care.  They seemed to be taking the children to some kind of program, perhaps at a community centre nearby.  I felt there is a loving relationship in the family.  

But the parents must be hard pressed to take care of their children.  They must always be on the alert when the children are prone to cause a disturbance whenever there are other people around.  The situation will get worse when the children continue to grow physically but not mentally.  I have a cousin who is now in his 50s with a mental age of around 5; I do have some understanding of what the situation is like.  

We don’t know the family.  We have never met them before and we have not met them again since.  But we feel for them, and we have been praying for them.  On the other hand, who does not have demons to deal with?  It is just that some demons are more visible and obvious.  Perhaps the invisible ones are actually more insidious.