Resources for children with special needs in Shanghai

Essential Learning Group

Essential Learning Group's mission is to help individuals to achieve their full potential by enabling them to develop essential tools for social, emotional and academic success. ELG offers half- and full-day programmes for children with exceptional needs who cannot successfully access the curriculum of a regular school environment, or are in need of early intervention.

ELG works with individuals from birth to adulthood; generally students are on the autism spectrum, have global development delays, behaviour problems, learning disabilities, genetic conditions or need to intensely develop skills before moving to an international school.

LIH Olivia's Place

Originally founded by two parents who discovered the scarcity of support for children with Down’s syndrome in Shanghai after the birth of their first child, LIH Olivia’s Place provide world-class, multidisciplinary paediatric therapy services to children of all abilities, ages birth to 18 years.

The organisation has three major service areas: paediatric therapy consulting services including occupational, physical, and speech therapies, psychology services, ABA, and learning support in English, Chinese and several other languages; educational outreach with multilingual clinical staff providing classes to the community, teachers, schools, hospitals, clinics, orphanages, universities, and local therapists; and foundation initiatives to cover the cost of care for families that cannot otherwise afford services.

The foundation also works to further the organisation’s vision of universally available paediatric therapy in China. While Olivia’s Place is not a school, its Shanghai location does offer an early intervention academic programme.