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Artwork created by autistic children is being sold to benefit their families, but the very act of creating the work is worth more than money can buy. Liu Zhihua reports.
Beijing resident Zou Wen is very proud of her 16-year-old son.
On special occasions, Zou will choose from all sorts of attractive postcards, bookmarks, and calendars illustrated by her boy.
She is proud because her son, Xiao Jingkang, draws beautifully, although he is autistic - a condition that has left the child unable to understand simple social norms. He has trouble in social situations and he needs constant special care and attention.
"He enjoys drawing, and everyone loves his drawings," Zou says, adding that Xiao started taking art classes in 2010 and hasn't stopped.
"I'm so happy that he is happy."
Xiao was diagnosed with the disorder when he was 3 years old, and ever since then, Zou's life has revolved around her son's needs.
A decade ago, facilities for autistic children, such as tailored education to teach everyday skills and to reduce disruptive behaviors, were scarce, but things are improving.
Organizations that offer art training to children like Xiao have been springing up, and drawing has become an important outlet for autistic children, at least in big cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, Zou says.
Yue Liang, a 15-year-old autistic boy, has been taking drawing classes since 2011 at several art rehabilitation centers in Beijing.
"I don't expect him to be able to do mathematics or to write a story," says Liang Jun, 46, Yue's mother.
"I just hope his time will be occupied, and he will not loiter around. I don't want him to feel bored when his father and I have to leave him alone in the world."
Yue was diagnosed at 4 years old. He has an even temper and never becomes violent.
He attends regular school with ordinary kids, but academically lags behind his classmates, who are about three years younger than him.
When Liang realized art was one of the few courses in which her son excelled, she decided to find a facility where he could study drawing.
On the advice of a friend, in 2011, Liang enrolled Yue in Golden Wings, an art rehabilitation center for autistic children. He now spends at least one day a week there taking classes in drawing.
"My son loves drawing at the center," Liang says. "It feels different from a school drawing class."
In Yue's school, one teacher is responsible for dozens of students. The teacher doesn't have the energy or patience to attend to every student's different needs, Liang says.
In the rehabilitation center, all the teachers, for drawing, dancing and gymnastics, have been specially trained in special education, and have the patience and expertise to teach autistic children.
"There is an increasing number of rehabilitation centers providing such services," Liang says.
"They meet our needs. Among our circle (parents of autistic children), we tell each other when we learn about another good place for our children to take art classes."
When Zhang Junru, a former executive with a large company, started a non-governmental organization called Golden Wings to offer a helping hand to autistic families, she never expected the organization would develop so quickly.
Inspired by her experience as executive in large companies, in 2010, Zhang decided to run a social enterprise providing a variety of classes for autistic children.
She hires professional teachers for classes, such as drawing, dancing, singing and calligraphy, and pays them about 200 yuan ($32) to teach the class, and charges 100 yuan to students for a single class.
An annual fee of 2,000 yuan is charged for each course. Discounts are available for low-income families. If the child manages to attend 90 percent of his or her classes on time, the organization will refund the family 1,000 yuan at the end of the school year.
Zhang sells the children's paintings and products made from the paintings, such as calendars, bookmarks and postcards, in an online shop, or to companies through her personal contacts.
She also organizes charity gala dinners, and auctions the students' paintings.
After paying for the organization's operating costs and ongoing development, the money collected is redistributed among the autistic children, according to their contribution to the fundraising efforts, Zhang says.
In four years, the organization has grown quickly. It had only seven kids in 2010. Today it has 48 students.
Last year, the organization refunded 120,000 yuan to families with autistic children. One child received 15,000 yuan, Zhang says.
"All the money I make through the children, I spend on them," Zhang says.
Golden Wings is not the first school of its kind.
Since 2008, Love under the Sky Painting Exhibition has taken place on World Autism Day, which falls on April 2.
The exhibition is organized by the Beijing Association for Rehabilitation of Autistic Children, and all the paintings displayed and auctioned are the works of autistic children from all over the country.
This year, the organizers have selected 1,500 pieces out of 6,000 works to exhibit on April 2 in nine cities across the country, including Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
The annual exhibition is the first of its kind in Beijing that distributes money made from the exhibition among the autistic painters, according to Aika Ishihara from the association. She runs a studio in 798 art zone where autistic children can study art and music.
The teachers are volunteers from universities and companies, and the courses are free, but a child needs to book a class two weeks in advance and have two interviews.
They have had to raise the admission requirements because there were too many applicants.
Exhibiting autistic children's artwork, raising money from an exhibition and charity gala dinner, and then allocating the money to the children, is also an annual event for Beijing Stars and Rain, a grassroots NGO providing rehabilitation education to autistic children.
"It is not about how much money those autistic children can make. It is about the hope and joy parents get from their children's paintings," says Jia Meixiang, an autism specialist with Peking University Sixth Hospital and one of the organizers of the exhibition.
"Drawing calms autistic children, and reduces the incidence of mood swings and destructive behavior."
Xiao Jingkang, the 16-year-old autistic boy, now leads a full life.
He goes to school one day a week, and enjoys being with his classmates and teachers. For the rest of each week, he paints, plays tennis, goes to the gym, and swims with the help of a private coach. He is also learning to play musical instruments.
"Whether if it is drawing or something else, as long as the child loves it, I'm happy to let him do it," Zou says. "I just want him to enjoy life."
Contact the writer at liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn.
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Autistic children accompanied by their parents visit a sealife park in Qingdao, Shandong province. Li Ziheng / Xinhua |
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Xiao Jingkang,16,enjoys painting while participating in a drawing class for autistic children in Beijing. Provided to China Daily |
