Digital | six dilemmas in the service supply of "Star Youth"

Autism spectrum disorder, also known as autism (also known as autism), is a common disorder of neurological development characterized by social disturbances, narrow interests, and repetitive stereotyped behaviors and sensory abnormalities. So far, there is no scientifically rigorous way to "cure" autism that has been scientifically rigorously verified and effective.

At a 1% incidence rate, there are at least more than 10 million people with autism on the mainland, and it is growing at a rate of nearly 200,000 per year. April 2 this year is the 15th "World Autism Awareness Day", and the theme slogan proposed by the China Disabled Persons' Federation is: "Focus on Autism Services: Build a Social Security Mechanism and Promote the High-quality Development of Service Institutions".

Recently, the research team of Shenzhen International Philanthropy Institute and Tencent Charity released the "Report on the Needs and Services of Elderly Autistic People" and cases, focusing on issues related to elderly autistic people, in order to help autistic people grow up in integrated education, rely on their own ability to live independently, and better integrate into society.

The first part of the report conducted a survey of relevant people serving autistic people, and several directional conclusions were drawn based on data collection: first, the public's general concern about autism is "early detection, early intervention"; secondly, the public has a certain concern about autism groups, but the needs and services of this group are still relatively unfamiliar, and about 15% of people think that they are very familiar with autism and related issues; in addition, there are large differences in the focus of respondents with different identities Respondents who are very familiar with autism pay special attention to "independent living and community integration", which is also a pain point for the elderly autistic group.

The second part of the report tells the integrated employment cases of the real "autism" group - "Star Youth", guides the public to pay attention to the employment problems of the older autistic groups, and jointly explores the workplace dilemmas and breakthrough paths of the elderly autistic groups.

The public still feels unfamiliar with autism

Autism-related issues are analyzed in terms of importance

The report shows that for the subdivision of autism, respondents paid more attention to preventive intervention, independent living and inclusive education - "early detection, early intervention" (39.2%), "independent living and community integration" (38.1%), and "going to school with normal children" (31.8%).

The sample population participating in the survey "self-assessed the degree of understanding of autism and related issues" accounted for the majority of people who considered themselves relatively or generally familiar with the topic, accounting for 75.8%; only 14.7% of the people who thought they were very familiar with autism and related topics; and fewer people who thought they were relatively unfamiliar and generally unfamiliar, with data of 8.7% and 0.7%, respectively.

Based on this, the report after the analysis of the identity tag shows that the public has a certain concern about the autistic group, but the needs and services of this group are still relatively unfamiliar.

The focus of respondents in different identities is focused

The report shows that through cross-analysis of respondents with different identities, different identity tags show slight differences in the topics of autism concern:

1. Practitioners of public welfare industries related to autism, medical service institutions, and educational institutions pay more attention to topics related to their professions;

Second, the attention of researchers and policymakers/relevant government departments is consistently focused on early detection and early intervention, and more attention is paid to early intervention;

Third, the issues of interest to parents of "Star Baby" (children with autism) are relatively evenly distributed, involving the whole life cycle of the group;

Fourth, the focus of public concerns on social issues is focused on early detection and early intervention, independent living and community integration.

The report points out that from the perspective of rehabilitation assistance, the solution of these problems, whether it is the government, the market or the family at a young age, will have a larger investment of resources. The coverage of rehabilitation assistance in various places ranges from 0-6 years old, 0-14 years old, 0-17 years old and even part of it to 18 years old, but after that, it is often necessary to meet certain conditions to continue to enjoy welfare protection, and it is difficult to meet the individual needs of the group. The willingness of families to pay for services is often concentrated in the "young age" stage, and in the later stage, they are more inclined to save and prevent the elderly, and the willingness to pay for elderly services is relatively reduced, which leads to many service agencies that pay attention to the elderly autistic group can only be maintained, and the improvement of service professionalism is also limited.

Concerns about employment are on the rise

It is worth mentioning that the survey found that the attention of respondents aged 41-50 to the employment of adults in autistic groups has increased significantly. Thanks to policy and social concerns, many children with autism grow up in an inclusive educational environment. However, when they left school, they could only rely on their parents at home because they had no work income and lack of welfare security, but they were out of touch with society, and the results of their rehabilitation training in the early stage gradually declined.

Relevant data show that the employment of autistic groups is a complex issue. The policy orientation of employment with disabilities, the support of enterprises for the employment of disabled groups, the long-term training and preparation of families, the counseling support of social service agencies, and the acceptance of the public are all important factors.

At the same time, the report notes that autism is a spectrum developmental disorder, with most groups of autism able to live like normal people after training and service interventions, and a small number of highly functional people even outperforming ordinary people in specific areas.

However, the employment policy for the disabled is not perfect, the lack of enterprises to provide jobs for autistic groups, the lack of parental preparation, the lack of corresponding employment support services, the public is still relatively unfamiliar with autism issues... As a result, the proportion of autistic groups in integrated employment is extremely low.

"Star Youth" can be integrated into society

Children with autism are described as "children of the stars" because they seem to have a way of thinking that does not belong to earthlings, as if they were from distant planets. The "children of the stars" become "star youth" when they grow up.

Some professionals pointed out that "from the perspective of autism lifelong support, one of the most successful signs of rehabilitation is the successful employment of autistic youth." The second part of the report uses cases to show that in fact, the "Star Youth" have their own characteristics and strengths, and can also be well integrated into society after receiving career transfer services and life support services.

For example, in a Xi tea shop in Beijing, Qianqian, a 26-year-old girl, can help customers make a cup of succulent grapes. Many "star youths" like Qianqian are meticulous and patient, and even better than other peers.

After studying and training, many "star youth" can also work in research institutions such as universities and research institutes, and become programmers, statisticians, and even mathematicians. A small number of "star youth" have outstanding memory, or show unique artistic and musical talents, and strong creativity and concentration can make them successful in fields such as piano tuning and computer animation design.

After graduating from the digital media design major, "Star Youth" Jiayang obtained a job as a designer by relying on his solid painting skills; Chen Meng was originally just a "Star Youth" who helped sort out cases in the hospital, in 2021, he accepted the "Love and Harmony" career assessment, and after systematic learning, entered a brand hotel to engage in the work of helping cooks in Pastry kitchens.

At the same time, it should be noted that for the workplace transformation of "star youth", the participation of employers is particularly important: for the "star youth" with strong ability, they can provide integrated employment positions; for the average ability, they can provide shelter and auxiliary employment, which can help the independent life of the "star youth".

From employment to independent living, to social integration, "Star Youth" needs continuous support for social integration: this includes industry organizations to provide education and training for social behavior, so that they can achieve emotional communication, behavioral disorders and psychological improvement and promotion; it also includes helping more people to enhance their awareness of "Star Youth", learn to accept their particularity, appreciate their shining points, and create a more friendly social environment for the growth of "Star Youth".

Six dilemmas in service delivery

The report concludes by pointing out six major dilemmas in serving Star Youth at this stage:

First, the overall service is missing

At present, government and social services for the elderly autistic group are relatively scarce, and the scarcity of services has led to chaos in the market, that is, in the case of insufficient services provided by the government and society, the rehabilitation services provided in the market are mixed.

Second, the policy support is vague

The government's rehabilitation assistance policy and education policy can barely cover adults (due to local policy differences, the maximum number of years covered ranges from 14-18 years old), and then need to meet certain conditions to continue to enjoy welfare protection, and government welfare is difficult to meet the individual needs of older autistic groups.

Third, the social resources are misplaced

In the past, society's attention was mainly focused on young children with autism, and the resources invested in the elderly autistic group were seriously insufficient. After the end of education, the elderly autistic group can only rely on their parents to raise them at home due to lack of work income and lack of welfare security, and the results of rehabilitation training have gradually deteriorated, and the previous social integration efforts have also vanished.

Fourth, there is a shortage of institutional talents

The image of autistic children is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, but the society's attention to the elderly autistic group is relatively low; many service agencies that pay attention to "Star Youth" can only be maintained, and the professionalism of services is limited. Serving older autistic groups requires systematic expertise and specialized training. In this regard, the involvement of experts and professional institutions is relatively lacking.

Fifth, the willingness of families has declined

The willingness of families to pay for services is often concentrated in the investment of the "young age" stage, and the later stage is more inclined to save and prevent the elderly, and the willingness to pay for services for the elderly autistic group is relatively declining.

Sixth, the community friendliness is not enough

There are still many misconceptions about autistic groups at the societal level, and insufficient advocacy has led to insufficient community friendliness and hindered efforts to integrate into the community.

(Note: Due to sampling bias, it is difficult to reflect the overall situation, and the report only analyzes the questionnaire results, and is only used for reference in this survey topic)

Conclusion: Based on the research and combing of the insufficient service of elderly autistic people, the report puts forward references and suggestions for helping "star youth" better integrate into society, guide the public to eliminate misunderstandings, and help social resources to help achieve greater value, which has strong practical significance. As the report said, only when more people pay attention to the needs and services of "star youth" and improve the quality of life of autistic people throughout the life cycle can they grow "not lonely".

- END -

Editor / Pi Lei Responsible Editor / Li Qing