Build a harbor for young "children"
Editor's note
For those who have grown up with mental disabilities, an unavoidable question is how can children live alone in society, or in other words, survive if their parents are unable to supervise one day or die.
Who will take the baton from these parents so that these children can live their lives safely?
When the tragedy of "white-haired men sending black-haired men" has become the wish of these parents, we should think about what we should do for these parents and these young "children"?
From this point of view, the "full life cycle service" proposed by the Wanwan Trusteeship Center is very meaningful.
Relevant parties should improve the long-term care system for people with mental disabilities and improve the corresponding social security system.
Let these young "children" also have the opportunity to work hard to create value for the society, also to live in, get medical care for the sick, and provide for the old.
On the second floor of the Disabled Persons' Federation in Jianggan District, Hangzhou, there is a small world hidden.
In the morning, passing through two gates from the office area of the Disabled Persons' Federation, one can hear the sound of reading.
"The way of a university is in Mingmingde, in being close to the people, and in being good..." An adult with a childish mental retardation in his face and voice was sitting neatly at a long table, accompanied by The special education teacher rhythmically taps the table while doing morning class.
This is the Wanwan Trusteeship Center, Hangzhou's first special education school for young people with intellectual disabilities over 16 years old.
Carrying the child on one end and the livelihood
When talking about the founding of the center, Xu Qin, the founder, seemed very calm: from the beginning, he was looking for playmates for his children.
One day 29 years ago, her son Hongyi, who was less than two years old, accidentally fell and became a child with multiple obstacles.
After Hongyi graduated from Yang Lingzi School, a special education institution, he has been missing his classmates and teachers.
After several toss and turns, Xu Qin made an important decision: re-assemble his son's classmates and hire the newly retired special education teachers and aunts to take care of them.
Xu Qin's ideas hit it off with the parents of other children. The six classmates in Hongyi's class and the retired old head teacher became the original members of the Wanwan Nursing Center.
Why is it called "Bend Bay"?
Xu Qin told reporters that the first "bend" means that these children are not so perfect and upright, and they have to take some detours in their lives.
The second "bay" means harbour. I hope they have a place to rely on.
Xu Qin decided to follow his own ideas and set up a new educational concept for the care center "Life is learning, activity is recovery". The daily activities of daily life have become the content of children's learning. Xu Qin will take the children to the food together. When buying vegetables in the market, sit around the table and wash the vegetables.
Gradually, the development of Bend Bay is on the right track, and the custody center has also received the attention of government departments. In May 2011, the custody center was officially registered.
At the end of 2013, the Jianggan District Government provided a new venue for the custody center, and the number of children increased to 36 children today.
The annual million yuan expenditure of the Wanwan Trusteeship Center is shared by the profits of the company founded by Xu Qin.
"I'm like a small vendor walking through the streets and carrying a pole. The pole carries his child on one end and the source of livelihood on the other." Xu Qin said.
"I hope I can live the life of ordinary people"
Ordinary and ordinary are also Xu Qin's expectations for the children in the Wanwan Nursing Center.
Wanwan's tutorial is taken from the purpose of life, which is to hope that children can live the lives of ordinary people.
According to the China Disabled Persons’ Federation’s definition of intellectual disability, intellectual disability includes a significantly lower than average level of intelligence and is accompanied by an adaptive behavior disorder, that is, people with mental disabilities have the ability to learn subjects and deal with daily life as well as their understanding of surroundings and environmental adaptation. Significantly slower than peers of the same age.
Take the morning reading content "University" as an example. Even though the special education teacher took the students to recite for several months, only a few people were able to recite the first paragraph completely.
"Most of the time, students can only read by memorizing the syllables, but cannot understand the meaning of the words. Therefore, our teacher can only use the rhythmic beat of the table to deepen their impression." A volunteer from Wanwan told reporters , "These children are actually not at a high level of mentality. Only by repeating one thing many times can we teach them a little bit.
Slow learning does not mean failure to learn. In the 12 years since the establishment of the custody center, Xu Qin and the volunteer teachers of the center have tailored learning plans and corresponding jobs for each student.
Wanwan has established a bookstore, a supermarket, and a car washing shop, so that children can have a real work experience and make the course content closer to life.
Xu Qin said, “Students like it first, and then we consider their abilities to assign positions.” The students are divided into five groups: learning center, kitchen, bookstore, supermarket, and car wash, each group is in the same society. Connected, children with strong ability are assigned to places where they can have direct contact with people, such as supermarkets, bookstores, and car washes. Children with weaker ability help volunteers cook lunch in the kitchen, children with weaker ability They learn the necessary knowledge of work and life in the learning center to lay the foundation for early work.
In addition to work, every little thing in life will be completed by the teacher with the students in order to discover their interest in the activities.
When Jia Yan, the manager of the car wash shop, first came to Wanwan, he was still a patient who didn't even say anything. However, when the teachers repaired the electrical appliances, they found Jia Yan was very interested, so every time they repaired the appliances, they called Jia Yan together. Getting started, now he has become a "professional master" in Wanwan. The telephone in the office and the electric light in the supermarket are broken. All he needs to do is to call Jiayan, and he will take the tools to make repairs.
Provide "Life Cycle Service"
"Take care of 36 students is the limit of my ability, but there are more mentally handicapped patients in China, so I hope Wanwan can play a role as a model." The 12 years of time spent together make the 36 This student is inseparable from the teachers and parents of the center.
"I won't let any child graduate." Xu Qin said half-jokingly, "The students will come back after they are sent out for less than a day."
Provide "Life Cycle Service" to accompany these 36 children through all the rest of the time.
In the eyes of ordinary people, mentally handicapped patients are equated with younger children. It seems that the patients' lives have been in their childhood, and their needs for partners, marriage, family, and old-age care disappear in society.
But in Xu Qin's eyes, the children's love, marriage needs and even future retirement should also be put on the agenda.
At the same time, the average age of students has crossed the threshold of thirty. When returning home, should parents continue to follow the same routine as children to manage the grown-up patients?
This has become the next direction for the custody center to explore.
The "Long Live Off Work" project is the solution Xu Qin came up with: After the regular work in the bookstore, car wash room, and supermarket during the day, Xu Qin intends to take advantage of the cheering and joy of the students after get off work to bring the students to experience the usual entertainment life , Watching movies, meeting friends for dinner and even playing games.
"Drinking milk tea and eating fried food like a young man" is the life Xu Qin wants to take the students to experience together.
"I hope they can find a partner, and if possible, they can become the triple identity of mother, mother-in-law and mother-in-law at the same time. I feel very lucky."
When talking about the more distant future, Xu Qin did not shy away.
The "Long Live Off Work" project includes simulated scene training for parents to take care of their children at home when they are sick. I hope that parents can feel at ease seeing their children take care of themselves when they are away.
The whole life cycle is not only a promise to students, but also a closed-eye project and a love project for parents.
"However, it is better to see Hony go through life peacefully. This is my biggest wish." Xu Qin said.
Zou Jiran