There is such a group of children,
They are like twinkling stars in the distant sky.
They are deaf, but deaf;
Not blind, but blind;
Not dumb, but silent.
They are always silent in their own closed world of thought,
Live in your own world.
They are called the children of the stars.
This year, 2 April marks the 15th World Autism Day.
The incidence of autism in the mainland is about 1%, of which there are about 2 million children under 12 years old, and it shows a trend of increasing year by year.
In real life, we can sometimes meet such children around us.
They often behave differently than the average child, for example:
Don't like to interact with other people,
Avoid eye contact with others,
Talk to yourself or make strange noises,
Sudden tantrums or crying,
Do strange movements (e.g., pat yourself on the head, shake your body),
Always do the same action or ask the same question...
The vast majority of people directly think that such children are willful, weird, unsociable, uncultured, and even take their children away from such children as they should be.
In fact, society as a whole still lacks understanding of this group, and when we treat them and their families with different eyes, this group will suffer more discrimination and misunderstanding.
Misconceptions about autism
(1) Autism is the solitude of personality.
Many people think that autistic children are isolated personalities stimulated by some kind of external environment.
Studies have shown that autism is a neurological developmental disorder rather than a purely psychological disorder.
Image taken from the documentary "The Inner World of an Autistic Teenager"
(2) Autism is genius.
Less than 10% of children with autism are mentally abnormal, and most children have a slightly lower level of intelligence than normal children.
Therefore, if parents find that their children have autistic tendencies, do not take chances, the most correct thing to do is to go to the hospital in time.
(3) Children with autism have low cognitive ability and are difficult to teach.
The vast majority of studies and experience show that education remains the most effective means of intervention until now.
Children with autism can acquire knowledge and skills through education not only as children in general, but also acquire the ability to live independently and eventually integrate into society.
Education is one of the most effective ways to help children with autism integrate and reintegrate into society.
(4) Children with autism behave strangely.
Children with autism do sometimes have some strange movements, such as shaking their bodies, hitting their heads, and so on.
They often exhibit these behaviors because they feel something abnormal, leading to behaviors that they themselves can't control.
These behaviors can help them regain calm or express their needs.
Image taken from the documentary "Children of a Distant Planet"
(5) Autism is caused by the incompetence of the parents.
Autism was once thought to be caused by so-called "refrigerator mothers", and the responsibility for children's autism was blamed on the mother's care and love for her children.
However, this claim has long been overturned and has no basis.
Not only that, but the biggest wish of many parents of autistic children is that they can live one more day than their children and take care of their children one day more.
In fact, autism is a disorder of brain development, not the result of parenting styles.
"I'm anxious, helpless, powerless, and I don't know what our children will do when we die," is the heart of an 8-year-old autistic father.
Due to the weak public awareness, lack of professional support systems, and insufficient educational resources, the growth and education of many autistic children are still excluded from normal life, and they have a difficult and tortuous road to self-help.
These special children affect thousands of families, and they have endless pain and tears on the way to raising children.
According to a survey, more than 60% of parents in families give up their jobs because their children need to be accompanied by rehabilitation, and more financial pressures will cause many families to abandon treatment.
If autistic children do not receive effective intervention during the critical period, their social ability development will be less optimistic, and it will also bring greater burdens to the family.
What can we do as ordinary people?
When you encounter these star children, please do not exclude, let alone discriminate.
Autistic people's senses are often different from ordinary people's sensitivity, so they will feel very noisy about the sound of ordinary volume, they will also feel pain for normal skin contact, and they do not like colors that are too bright such as yellow.
At the same time, autistic people will be afraid of excessive gaze from others, so please put away the strange gaze, and if they agree, you can take the initiative to extend warm hands, take the initiative to communicate with them, and help them integrate into society.
When we learn more about them, we can avoid misunderstandings that lead us to blame autistic people and their families.
I hope that the whole society can be more tolerant of them,
Give them more understanding and love,
to support them out of the lonely ivory tower.
May the sun shine through the closed door, warm every corner, and may every child of the stars not be alone.