On April 2, "World Autism Day", rehabilitation therapists led autistic children to carry out the theme teaching activity of "crossing the street to go shopping" in the real-life teaching room of Xi'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Encephalopathy Hospital. Through the experience of knowing traffic lights, walking zebra crossings, expressing procurement needs, and purchasing goods, children master the basic skills of life, establish a sense of routine, and prepare for social integration. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Gao Yayu Zhang Lishu, reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network, Qi Zheng
Apple house, strawberry house, grape house... In every classroom with fruit logos in Xi'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Encephalopathy Hospital, special children come to receive rehabilitation training every day.
Outside the classroom, parents sit quietly in chairs, stand against the wall, or look into the classroom. "I hope my child will get better soon." Some parents said.
Looking forward to the eyes of the outside world to understand and accept, children can one day live on their own, is their greatest wish. And this wish belongs to every family of autistic children here.
Xinbao likes to pull his mother to "visit Xi'an", and he likes the feeling of being blown by the wind. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
It turned out to be autism
One word, two words to "jump" out, can not say it can not be said anxiously to make a "hum" sound. Unlike most children, Xiao Qi (pseudonym) is more than 4 years old before she speaks, but it is often an incomplete expression.
"Maybe this doll in my family is talking late." For Xiao Qi's performance, at the beginning, Xiao Qi's mother Liu Qin (pseudonym) and her husband did not care. Living in rural Yulin, Shaanxi Province, they never knew what autism was, let alone thought that their children would suffer from this disease.
But gradually, Liu Qin found that Xiao Qi always liked to walk around alone, and often talked to himself. Until the age of 6, after entering the kindergarten, the teacher reflected to Liu Qin that Xiaoqi often stayed alone, and when he met children who took the initiative to play with him, he often reacted fiercely and "drove them away" in an unfriendly way, which was very unsociable.
"As we got older, similar manifestations became more and more apparent, and it wasn't until he was 8 years old that we realized that there might be something wrong with the child and that we should take him to check it out." Liu Qin said.
Also aware of the child's problem was Zeng Mei (pseudonym) of Shangluo Shanyang in Shaanxi Province. In her eyes, her child Xinbao (pseudonym) is too attached to many things, too "rules", and a slight change will cause a big explosion of Xinbao's emotions.
"Xinbao must go out at 6:30 p.m. every day, and he must come back at 8:30 p.m., which road to take when he goes, which road to take when he returns, all of which are fixed, and once he changes his route, he will cry on the street." Zeng Mei said.
In fact, such "stubborn" behavior appeared when Xinbao was a child. According to Zeng Mei's recollection, at first, Xinbao did not like to eat, and when he was hungry, he would only do two things, run into the supermarket to buy snacks to eat, or eat a whole bag of fruit. When he grew up, Xinbao began to accept staple foods, but he always looked for the same food, a bowl of dragon's whisker noodles every day, ate for two or three years, and later only ate dumplings.
"The same environment, the same procedures, the same movements seem to bring him a sense of security." Zeng Mei said: "I used to think of his stereotypical repetitive behavior as naughty, until after the hospital examination and diagnosis, I did not know that it was autism." ”
For xiaoqi's family, after walking through many hospitals in Beijing and Xi'an, they understood that Xiaoqi's language and unsociable problems are actually language communication disorders and social communication disorders, which are the main manifestations of autism.
"Xinbao came to Xi'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Encephalopathy Hospital at the age of 12 and began to receive medical intervention, and the doctor told us that it would be better if we were earlier, but often encouraged us not to give up." Zeng Mei said: "Now I have learned to understand every 'strange' behavior of Xinbao, but sometimes when I take him out, I find that others still don't understand." ”
They can also be "genius" kids
"Social interaction, language communication disorders, narrow interests, and repetitive stereotypes are the two core manifestations of autistic children. However, in the clinic, it was found that many children may not have obvious defects in both aspects, and it is difficult to name them with a specific 'label', so the concept of 'autism spectrum disorder' has been introduced in the medical community, and the related behavioral manifestations of autism are regarded as a spectrum, the degree is from low to high, the serious one is 'typical autism', and some children with mild disorders are expected to gradually approach the general population. Zhao Ningxia, director of the Autism Department of Xi'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Encephalopathy Hospital, said.
Zhao Ningxia said that among children with autism, there are a very small number of children who have shown abilities beyond normal children in memory, numbers, paintings, music, etc., and some can be diagnosed as "Asperger's syndrome" in medicine, which is popularly said to be the "genius" children in autism.
Xiao qi and Xinbao are such children.
As long as you say "a certain day in a certain month of a certain year", Xiao Qi can quickly say that day of the week, and even can say the weather of the day. During the hospital intervention treatment, doctors and rehabilitation therapists discovered Xiao Qi's superiority.
"Xiao qi is in the hospital, he will stare at the calendar as soon as he sees it, and he seems to be really sensitive to dates." Feng Ni, a rehabilitation therapist at the hospital, said: "Sometimes when talking about what happened a year or two ago, such as which year, the number of months and days of vacation, the number of months to go home, the number of months to do the treatment and discharge, he can remember accurately." ”
And Xinbao's talent in numbers is evident in kindergartens. Learning "hand-brain arithmetic" with other children, Xinbao always learns the fastest and most accurately, so he has also become a "little genius" in the mouth of the kindergarten director.
"Usually I will buy him some cards and number drawings, and as soon as he learns them, he can recognize two or three hundred words at the age of two or three, from one to a hundred, and he is very fluent in back to back." Zeng Mei said.
In the Autism Department of Xi'an Traditional Chinese Medicine Encephalopathy Hospital, there is a consensus among medical staff - the "children of the stars" in the world's population can not only be synonymous with loneliness and closure, they are also "children who can shine".
The whole society is working hard to let them live a normal life
In order to let more autistic children like Xiaoqi and Xinbao get the understanding, acceptance and attention of the society, the hospital organized nearly 100 special children in the province to set up the "Xingbao Angel Children's Art Troupe" during the "World Autism Day" in 2019, and the cross-talk actor Miao Fu volunteered as the general consultant of the art troupe.
In the past three years, the troupe has organized and participated in various forms of performances, allowing many children with autism and Down syndrome to stand on the stage to show themselves, which have made special children and their families have more happiness, sense of gain and security.
"This is a way for us to continuously develop integrated education and promote the integration of medical education." Zhuo Kunli, the organizer of the art troupe and vice president of the hospital, introduced: "In recent years, we and the Xi'an Disabled Persons' Federation have continued to carry out the 'Love Is Not Lonely' Autism Day public welfare activities, building a platform for special children to show themselves. ”
In addition, in the process of rehabilitation treatment between Xiaoqi and Xinbao, the Rehabilitation Assistance Project for Disabled Children of the Xi'an Disabled Persons' Federation also brought support to the two families.
It is reported that in recent years, the Xi'an Municipal Government has established a rehabilitation and assistance system for disabled children, among which the Municipal Disabled Persons' Federation has taken the lead in formulating the implementation plan for the rehabilitation assistance of disabled children and adolescents, determining the designated rehabilitation institutions, and through the implementation of a number of rehabilitation assistance projects, to achieve "finding a case, assisting a case, and guaranteeing a case", reducing the burden for many special children's families and bringing more hope to the growth and future of special children.
"Xinbao now receives regular rehabilitation treatment in the hospital while receiving systematic knowledge learning in school. I myself will buy some books on autism and guide him at home. Zeng Mei said: "The hospital and society have given my children a lot of help, as parents, we should know how to accept our children, they are born special, they will have a special life trajectory." For so many years, the whole society has been working hard, as a mother must not be discouraged, can not give up. My biggest wish is that one day, my children will eventually be able to truly integrate into society and live a normal life. ”
Source: China Youth Daily client