Parents accompany autistic children to do handicraft work in the "Star Treasure Workshop".
This year, 2 April marks the 15th World Autism Awareness Day.
Autism, also known as autism, is a disorder of psychological development characterized by disorders of social interaction, communication disorders and limitations, stereotypes, and repetitive behaviors. As a mental illness, autism seriously affects the social functioning of patients and places a heavy burden on the family and society.
If a child suffers from this disease, how should parents face it? Is it to keep the child at home and around for a long time, or to help the child break through various obstacles, strengthen rehabilitation training, and let them confidently step out of their own small doors and step into the door of society?
In Ningbo, there are many parents of children with autism who are bravely crossing the thorns and bumps, taking their children out of the house step by step, enjoying the sunshine and the warmth of the crowd.
Ningbo "Xingbao" Family Fun Games.
"Companion" courses
Provide upside for "Star Treasure"
Children with autism are also known as "children of the stars" or "star treasures".
Ningbo Xingbao Autism Family Support Center (hereinafter referred to as Xingbao Center) has set up a "companion" course for autistic people. When I came to the center, Shen Guorong, a volunteer team of the Municipal Customs Work Committee, was giving a paper-cutting class for nini and Yangyang, and there were 3 volunteers accompanying the two children in the class.
According to the curriculum, Nini and Yangyang should identify the corresponding garbage according to the color of the sorted garbage cans, and then color the white garbage can pattern on the cardboard under the guidance of the teacher, and finally cut along the outline of the pattern, and paste the finished product on the homework paper in turn.
Shen Guorong told the author that coloring and paper cutting are fine tasks that need to be done calmly, which is a big test for the two children.
After answering a simple garbage sorting question, the two children, guided by volunteers, began to color the garbage cans on the cardboard.
"It should be coffee-colored here." Nini refers to the sample drawing to determine what color a block needs to be painted, and then begins to rummage through the pen holder. But there were several coffee color pens of different shades in the pen holder, and Nini was stunned. After a moment's hesitation, she picked out one and smeared it the cardboard. Obviously, Nini's colors are much darker than the sample.
"You see this color, right?" Is it necessary to change to a shallower one? Shen Guorong prompted. Nini paused, looked up at the sample, and continued to paint her head. The volunteer next to her saw the situation and changed the pen for her. The new color was painted on the cardboard, obviously closer to the sample, and Nini looked at it and smiled satisfactorily.
The staff of the Xingbao Center said that although Nini and Yang Yang are almost adults, many of their behaviors and logic still show the characteristics of low age. The staff member said: "In the eyes of many people, autistic people are emotionally unstable, they will repeat a certain sentence, they will suddenly scream and make noises, but these symptoms can be improved." They have the need for social interaction, the ability to learn, and the right to contact new things, make new friends, and integrate into new environments. ”
For the "companionship" course, the mother of an autistic person is very approved. She said: "Autism is very different from other disabilities, if the early rehabilitation training is done well, the later stage of the upward space is huge." Parents of children with autism should bravely break through psychological barriers, face them with their children, find out early, intervene early, do not abandon, do not give up, strengthen rehabilitation training, and believe that children can eventually go to society. ”
Relevant people pointed out that autistic children not only need financial support, but more importantly, all sectors of society can create conditions to provide these children with more and better opportunities to integrate into society.
In "Chef in the Heart", autistic youth use a smart blender to cook food.
Break through the family barrier
Help "Xingbao" integrate into collective life
In order to break the traditional concept that "the family is the whole activity space of autistic children", the Ningbo Charity Federation, The Xingbao Center and the Charity Enterprise set up the "Xingbao Workshop" last year, allowing parents to naturally integrate into the society with their children and achieved good results.
"My kids would suddenly shout loudly on the road, and I was afraid that others would look at us differently." A parent of an autistic person who did not want to leave his name confessed that because of his "love of face", he had restricted his child's freedom of movement. She feels that children can have no social interaction, and no matter how tired they are, they are also good to carry. Later, she found that "this road is not working." "Doing so not only limited his freedom, but also bound my life. Now, I feel like we should all go out and enjoy the sunshine and the warmth of the crowds. She said.
Her ideas coincide with Feng Dong, deputy secretary general of the Municipal Charity Federation and head of the Xingbao Center. He believes that social interaction is a human instinct, and autistic people are no exception, and moderate participation in social life can help them improve their abilities, prevent their ability to regress and produce emotional problems.
"I am also a father of an autistic child and deeply understand the pain and tiredness of some parents when caring for their children. The depressed mood of parents will in turn affect the parent-child relationship and aggravate the child's emotional problems. To break this vicious circle, we must first break through the limitations of space. Our 'Star Treasure Workshop' just acts as a bridge between family and society, giving autistic children the opportunity to go out of the house and participate in normal social life, reduce the burden on parents and improve their children's emotions. Feng Dong said.
On June 22 last year, when the Municipal Charity Store (Zhongshan West Road Store) opened, the "Xingbao Workshop" was unveiled at the same time. Soon, the workshop attracted several families with autism, and parents and children worked together in the workshop. Because the situation is the same and the topic is similar, the emotions of parents and children have improved to varying degrees.
Based on the successful experience of the "Charity Store + Xingbao Workshop", the Municipal Charity Store (Zhoujiang'an Road Store), which reopened on October 23 last year, also set aside a space and set up a kitchen, where autistic people can learn to cook and cook. At present, this kitchen already has the resounding name of "Chef of the Heart", and has launched a number of "Star Treasure Dishes", such as sauce radish, braised chicken wings, purple cabbage lemon fruit and vegetable juice and so on.
At present, "Xingbao Workshop" and "Heart Kitchen Master" have absorbed 7 families with autism. Although the number is not much, there is a lot of positive feedback.
"After going to the workshop, I found that I became more positive and cheerful, and the children behaved more and more appropriately. As a mom, I'm content. The mother of an autistic person said. In her eyes, the most important thing is that children can control their words and deeds, gradually be accepted by society, and be treated equally.
Normal social interaction allows autistic people to learn how to control and resolve emotions. In paper-cutting class, Nini was hit in the cheek twice by the hand of the same table, but she did not cry or vent her emotions by shouting. Afterwards, she also took the initiative to tell the staff that the classmate beat her perhaps because she had poked him with a straw the day before. "He didn't listen to the teacher and had been very noisy, so I poked him with a straw. But I'm not going to poke him anymore because the straw is for milk. Nini said.
The aggrieved Nini not only controlled her emotions, but also reflected on herself, and her progress was very gratifying to parents and volunteers.
According to reports, "Xingbao Workshop" and "Heart Kitchen Home" are not day care places for autistic people, but more like a space for the collective life of autistic families: shops provide safe spaces for these families, organize classes and activities, so that parents and children can participate; children are cared for by parents, in addition to daily expenses, parents do not have to pay additional fees for their children.
After the establishment of the workshop, it became a "buffer zone" for the reintegration of autistic families into society. Families of different backgrounds gathered here, caring for each other and encouraging each other, and some families of autistic people who had lost their direction in life began to re-enter society. At the same time, its emergence has allowed more caring people to understand the real situation of autistic people, and take the initiative to bring lessons and skills into their lives. Compared with the previous single financial support, this service is more in line with the needs of parents.
"When the child makes a mistake in class, I should criticize or criticize, and I will not give too much care because they have autism." In my opinion, they are the same as my former students, and I am teaching them in the same way as before, so as to promote their 'two-way journey' with society. One teacher said with emotion, "In addition to patience and encouragement, they need equality and respect." ”
Cartography Zhang Yue
Charitable Trusts
Or it can solve the ultimate concern of "Star Treasure" parents
"Children with autism are growing up, and they are beginning to express their emotions. Boys will take the initiative to praise the beauty of the little sister next to them, and take the initiative to invite each other to teach themselves lessons; girls will also ask small privacy questions curiously. "These are normal psychological developments, performances of their growth, just like when we were 14 to 18 years old." ”
Feng Dong hopes to spend a period of time to make "charity store +" into a replicable model, covering more communities, and can appear in more forms, such as "Xingbao Bookstore", "Xingbao Cafe", "Xingbao Convenience Store", etc., to open up more space for autistic families to integrate into society nearby.
"Promoting two-way integration of families and societies of autistic people is only the first step, and the issues we need to consider are even more profound than this." The mother of one autistic person expressed her ultimate concern, "The children are growing up and we will eventually grow old." After a hundred years of parents, how can children entrust them? It is still an unsolved question. ”
This is a difficult problem that confronts the families of most autistic people. The first autistic children served by the Star Center are adults or nearing adults, in other words, their parents are getting older.
Feng Dong, who is equally worried, made an important decision last year to sign a special needs trust contract with Wanxiang Trust Co., Ltd., trying to entrust part of his care for his 20-year-old autistic daughter. After the agreement came into effect, Wanxiang Trust would issue a living expense to Feng Dong's daughter every year, and according to the corresponding service contract, pay fees to the service providers designated by Feng Dong, and "hire someone" to solve the daughter's living needs (such as finding a teacher) and nursing needs (such as taking medicine). In January this year, Feng Dong excitedly posted his daughter's first new year's money in the circle of friends - more than 5,000 yuan of living expenses that Wanxiang Trust entered into the account. Although the money is not much, Feng Dong is very excited, because through the trust, he can see how the money becomes a service and is used for children. "Future concerns can be addressed step by step from now on, which gives us a lot of peace of mind." He said.
"Charitable trusts are a solution for families with autism. As a new type of charity, charitable trusts have the advantages of security, flexibility, long-term and innovation unique to the trust system, and have the dual nature of charity and trust. Experts pointed out that the "Xingbao" family can contribute funds, cooperate with trust, insurance and other financial institutions, set up a special trust fund or insurance account for the "Xingbao", and determine the guardianship agency or guardian, and the notary institution will provide relevant notarization, so as to provide the child with real economic security and living services after a hundred years of parents.
"Everybody's working on it. Now all the exploration and dedication is paving the way for the future of the child, and it is worth it. A parent of an autistic person said.
Reporter Wu Xiangzheng correspondent Li Zhe
News 1+1
Memorabilia of the City Star Treasure Autism Family Support Center
In December 2012, with the support of caring people Li Li and Yinyi Group, Ningbo Xingbao Autism Family Support Center, the first social service organization in the province to serve the families of autistic people, was established by the Municipal Charity Federation.
In 2014, the "Ningbo Xingyuan Parent School" project sponsored by Ningbo Commerce and Commerce Bank was launched to help parents who have just discovered their children's illness.
In 2015, With the support of Vanke Group, Xingbao Center established the Rehabilitation Department to provide rehabilitation services for children with autism.
In 2018, through activities such as the "Starbucks Undifferentiated Bus Day" project and the "Support and Service" theme forum, the Center directed the society's attention to the specific needs of autistic families and how to support children with autism in their daily lives, and issued the first batch of 280 "barrier-free travel cards".
From 2019 to 2021, with the support of the Civil Affairs Bureau and the Municipal Disabled Persons' Federation, and with the support of Xaar Group, Jizhi Technology, Ningbo Commerce and Commerce Bank, Jinhao Group and other enterprises, Xingbao Center carried out a series of exploration activities to support the "independent life" of autistic children, refined and summarized the relevant experience, and issued the "Manual for Promoting social integration of autistic people".
In October 2021, The Star Treasure Center hosted the "Entrustment and Life" forum to discuss with experts and representatives of social organizations from inside and outside the province on the issue of "how to entrust children after a hundred years of parents" in autistic families.
(Li Zhe Wu Xiangzheng)
【Source: Ningbo Net, China】