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Kylie Knott

Eric Wong Hok-pan loves buses. He is familiar with many of the routes in his home city of Hong Kong and knows what year some vehicles were built.
Wong is particularly passionate about vintage buses – especially when it comes to photographing them.
“This one is old, built in 1998,” says Wong, proudly showing off his vast collection of bus photos on his Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Wong’s hobby recently took a bad turn when he was bullied by a group of teenage boys while photographing his favourite subjects.

Wong has Down’s syndrome, a genetic condition caused by unusual cell division resulting in an extra copy of chromosome 21 that affects appearance and the ability to learn.
It was not Wong’s first experience with bullying, but the abuse left him traumatised and dampened his enthusiasm for photography.
With his confidence and mental health suffering, Wong looked for support at the Love 21 Foundation, a charity empowering people in Hong Kong with Down’s syndrome and autism through sport, nutrition and holistic support programmes.
“I have been coming to Love 21 for seven years, since I was 20 – I love it,” says Wong, who lives at home with his mother, father and older sister.












View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Love 21 Foundation (@love21foundation)



Wong, who works five days a week packing incense, heads to Love 21’s headquarters in San Po Kong, Kowloon, most afternoons after his shift.
It is a safe, happy space where members can take part in activities from boxing and lawn bowls to cooking and dancing classes.
Wong recently added dragon boating to his list of hobbies. He started receiving counselling there following the recent bullying incident.
Love 21 also has programmes focused on diet and nutrition.
So often members of these communities are unfairly held back by ignorance in society
Jeff Rotmeyer, founder of Love 21 Foundation
People with Down’s syndrome often have a slower metabolism and so gain weight more easily, which increases their chances of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
“We offer more than 700 healthy activities each month,” says Love 21’s founder, Jeff Rotmeyer. “We want to double that number by the end of the year.”
He adds that raising funds is key to achieving this goal.
Love 21 succeeds where many other organisations fail because of its curriculum designed to help members maximise their capabilities.
“What we’re seeing in the neurodiverse community is poorly run programmes with a lack of ambition,” Rotmeyer says.
“We hear it again and again, ‘Oh, that’s good enough for them.’ What we do at Love 21 is break through that and ensure that this community is fairly treated with members given the best opportunity to reach their full potential.”

The gym classes get pretty competitive, Rotmeyer says.
“Our members are so inspired by their peers, so when they see a friend with Down’s syndrome or autism doing a five-minute plank, they are inspired to try and beat it.
“We just finished our nutritional programme for the year and had our graduation ceremony this past weekend. Of the 117 members that took part, we saw over 378.3kg (830lbs) of combined fat loss and 305.4kg of muscle gained.”
Love 21’s Zumba dance classes are also among Wong’s favourite activities. He will get the chance to show off the moves he has learned at the foundation’s inaugural Disco Diverso, at Dragon-I nightclub in Hong Kong’s Central neighbourhood on May 29.
Rotmeyer says the concept behind the event, open to members aged 18 and over, is to ensure the neurodiverse communities in Hong Kong are afforded the same opportunities as everyone else.
“So often members of these communities are unfairly held back by ignorance in society, so Disco Diverso is a chance for them to go out and have some fun and experience what it’s like to party,” he says
The event underscores Love 21’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and celebrating diversity, something that is often lacking in Hong Kong.












View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Love 21 Foundation (@love21foundation)



People with autism have stressful moments in public, prompting judgmental stares that deter family members from going out, Rotmeyer says.
“The stress these families face due to stigma and judgment can be overwhelming,” he says, adding that is why many become “invisible”.
Public education and support to break down these societal barriers and improve the quality of life for neurodiverse individuals is vital.












View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Love 21 Foundation (@love21foundation)



From July, Love 21 will offer members free applied behaviour analysis (ABA) sessions – behavioural therapy aimed at increasing positive behaviours and decreasing negative ones for people with autism and other developmental conditions.
Children can also learn new skills and improve their social interactions. ABA is supported by over 60 years of science and clinical practice, Rotmeyer says.
“This support is normally too expensive for the general public to afford,” Rotmeyer says, adding it can cost around HK$20,000 (US$2,560) a month for one individual.
“Love 21 supports over 550 families and roughly 70 per cent are single-mother households.”
Providing affordable care for neurodiverse individuals is increasingly important in a city with a yawning wealth gap.
“Wealthier families who have children on the spectrum get the therapeutic support they need, but it’s costing them a fortune, while poor families miss out – I don’t believe that is right,” Rotmeyer says.
“We offer a wide range of healthy activities, intervention-type therapeutic programmes and classes and a lot of family support programmes to empower not just the child but the parent.
“We believe strongly in a holistic development model, and we put emphasis on supporting the parents, with counselling programmes for parents and siblings, educational workshops to care for parents and support groups where they can share and normalise the conversation and get support from their peers.”

It is a Tuesday afternoon at the centre, and Wong has just finished a nutrition workshop with his mother, Amy Chung.
“I’ve taken part in a lot of workshops and classes on cooking, as well as health talks and even dancing and yoga,” Chung says. “I’ve met a lot of other parents as well.”
But the day is not over for the pair. The next stop is to watch Kooza, the internationally acclaimed performance by Cirque du Soleil, at Hong Kong’s Central Harbourfront. The tickets were gifted by Love 21.
And, of course, Wong is catching a bus to the venue.
For more information visit https://love21foundation.com/
Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.


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Health & Wellness

Health

Love 21 Foundation’s latest initiative to help those with Down’s syndrome and autism feel included is its inaugural Disco Diverso


Love 21 Foundation’s latest initiative to help those with Down’s syndrome and autism feel included is its inaugural Disco Diverso.


Diversity and inclusion

Disease

Hong Kong society

Hong Kong charity stages disco to help neurodiverse adults feel ‘what it’s like to party’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Love 21 Foundation’s latest initiative to help those with Down’s syndrome and autism feel included is its inaugural Disco Diverso

Love 21 Foundation’s latest initiative to help those with Down’s syndrome and autism feel included is its inaugural Disco Diverso