Get closer to the "Children from the Stars" and learn about their inner stories

Love is never lonely. Get closer to the "children from the stars" and learn about their inner stories→

　　Tomorrow (April 2) is the 17th World Autism Awareness Day, and this year’s theme is “Full-Life Services and Comprehensive Care.” Autism has become the leading cause of mental disability among children in my country.

　　People with autism often refer to people with autism as "children of the stars". They are not good at communicating with others and usually live in their own little world, just like stars, shining alone in their "night sky".

　　As society's attention and awareness of autistic patients increase, more and more resources and policies are tilted towards this group. In a hospital in Hanting District, Weifang City, Shandong Province, the children's rehabilitation department was transformed into a special school for autistic children. Get closer to these "children from the stars"↓

　　From "Children of the Stars" Love is not "lonely"

　　Even a simple action like pasting cannot be completed by 10-year-old Lu Lu on his own. His fingers are not that flexible, and he cannot focus on one thing for a long time, or even speak a complete sentence. Lu Lu was always curious about the things around him. As soon as the camera moved forward, his little hands came over.

Zheng Mingming, a mother from Mainland China

: She

is very concerned about her own world. Maybe you are sad or busy with something, but she doesn’t pay attention at all. She is in her own world.

　　Zheng Mingming, a mainland mother, told reporters that when her child was 8 months old, she noticed many abnormalities.

Zheng Mingming, a mother from Mainland China:

The child could not turn over, crawl, or sit even at eight months old. We went to the hospital for a checkup and did an MRI. We found that the brain might not develop the same as other children.

　　From Shandong to Beijing, Zheng Mingming took the mainland to several specialized hospitals. The test results showed that he was underdeveloped, had difficulty moving, and was unable to communicate...all the signs pointed to one disease - autism. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which patients often exhibit social difficulties, language communication difficulties, and repetitive and stereotyped behavior patterns. Since then, the couple has taken Lu Lu on the difficult road to recovery.

Zheng Mingming, a mother from Mainland China:

It was actually quite depressing at that time, because you didn’t know how to face the future, and you never thought that such a situation would suddenly appear in your life.

　　Scientific intervention helps children with autism integrate into society

　　Mainland finally received targeted treatment in the rehabilitation department of a hospital in Beijing, and gradually became able to understand most of the instructions from teachers and parents. But at this time, the huge cost of treatment has become increasingly unbearable for mainland families. This is also a problem faced by many families of children with autism.

　　For children with autism, autism will accompany them throughout their lives and requires long-term treatment and training. In order to solve the practical difficulties of families with autistic children, the Hanting District People's Hospital of Weifang City changed the ward on the 8th floor into a children's rehabilitation ward in 2023, and introduced a group of professional teachers to conduct scientific intervention and help children with autism. They integrate into society. In terms of expenses, rehabilitation treatment expenses are charged at a rate of 80% reimbursed by medical insurance, which greatly reduces the financial burden on families. This school-like children's rehabilitation center is a spiritual haven for children with autism and their parents.

Parent Ms. Huang:

Because we have one-on-one training sessions, his attention span is not good, but his self-care, writing, and cognition have all improved compared to before. I feel very happy. The teacher taught me very carefully and carefully. He has improved compared to before and is definitely getting better.

　　The hospital develops one-on-one "individual training courses" for each autistic child. The course includes a series of rehabilitation training such as cognitive understanding, expression, auditory recognition, dialogue, social games, and self-care. Each child has an individual file. The child's status is recorded in detail based on the daily class situation, and the children are regularly reviewed. Test, the rehabilitation effect can be seen intuitively through data comparison.

Wang Juan, director of children's rehabilitation teaching at Hanting District People's Hospital of Weifang City:

When our children enter society in the future, they need to integrate into the collective environment, and they need to have strong skills as support. Personal training courses will provide such a skill, which can be demonstrated in intensive training classes and then used in life.

　　Autistic patients require life-long services and comprehensive care

　　There is currently no cure for autism spectrum disorder, and even with systemic treatment, some symptoms may persist into adulthood. Therefore, autistic patients need life-long social services and all-round care.

　　According to the "Report on the Development of China's Autism Education and Rehabilitation Industry", the incidence rate of autism in my country reaches 0.7%, and there are more than 10 million people with autism spectrum disorders, among whom there are approximately 3 million to 5 million children aged 0 to 14 years old. Parents of children with autism have a strong sense of guilt for their children.

Cai Xiao'e, chief therapist of the Rehabilitation Medicine Department of Beijing Haidian Hospital:

I don't know if you have heard of the refrigerator mother theory. The mother is playing with her mobile phone or doing her own thing, and the children are playing with building blocks. This is the theoretical basis at the beginning. , so it will cause the parent to blame herself very much. She will think that I did not take care of the child well, which caused such obstacles, which is wrong. Because a series of subsequent studies have confirmed that we have abandoned the refrigerator mother theory, which means that either the caregiver's improper parenting style causes the child's disorder, or it is an innate early neurodevelopmental disorder.

　　In addition to feelings of self-blame, parents of autistic children also commonly face difficulties such as how to effectively help their children and how to find appropriate rehabilitation resources. The survey shows that there is a huge shortage of teachers engaged in the rehabilitation of autistic children, and the proportion is seriously imbalanced compared with the huge autistic population.

Parent Ms. Huang:

They cannot express themselves and can only use emotions instead. This is a big difficulty for us. And it is very difficult to find a good teacher to teach them.

　　Experts suggest that the earlier intervention is performed for autistic children, the better the effect, and treatment must not be given up. If you cannot find a professional rehabilitation institution for the time being, parents can purchase audio-visual materials for rehabilitation training for autistic children and provide intervention for their children at home. Family training can start with the development of a structured schedule, including: self-care ability training, imitation ability training, gross motor and fine motor training, social skills training such as role play, etc. The best age for intervention is before 6 years old, and the intervention time should be no less than 3 hours a day.

　　Learn more about "Children of the Stars" and be patient

　　If you have the opportunity to meet an autistic child in your life, how should you get along with them, and what should you pay attention to when interacting with them? Let us know more about autism, so that when we meet them, we will be more patient. Even just a little bit will be an encouragement and affirmation to them.

　　Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder whose core symptoms are social difficulties, narrow interests, and repetitive stereotyped behaviors. Most of them develop before the age of 3. The prevalence is higher in boys than girls, about 4:1. Autism spectrum disorder can be divided into low-functioning autism spectrum disorder and high-functioning autism spectrum disorder according to intelligence level and ability. They will all have some typical characteristics, such as poor expression, lack of response to calls, not liking to play with others, inability to understand other people's emotions, and liking repetitive activities.

Zheng Yi, chief expert in child psychiatry at Beijing Anding Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University:

In fact, it appears in some special forms such as loneliness, difficulty in social communication and stereotyped behavior, so it brings great losses to his social functions. In the early stages, many children are motivated to play, but because they don't know how to play, they will be frustrated. After being frustrated, they will develop simple aggressive behaviors.

　　According to experts, communicating with autistic children requires enough patience, keeping the language as concise as possible, and using less metaphors, metaphors and humor. Use body language, facial expressions and gestures when communicating, and use encouraging language to help children build self-confidence. When autistic children don't want to make friends, don't force them.

Zheng Yi, chief expert in child psychiatry at Beijing Anding Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University:

He was forced to pull and play with the children. In fact, his contractions were more severe at this time, so he had to train step by step and step by step. Only in this way can he Can achieve very good results. If there are some excessive aggression or inattention problems during training, you can also use some drug treatment to help them.

　　Most autistic patients can integrate into society with professional guidance

　　In addition, there are two common misunderstandings in society. One misconception is that autistic people are geniuses. Another misunderstanding is that people with autism are incapable of supporting themselves and integrating into society. According to experts, both misconceptions are too extreme.

Zheng Yi, chief expert in child psychiatry at Beijing Anding Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University:

Some children are not autistic and do not even feel alienated. They take the initiative to contact you and have no concept of interpersonal boundaries. This is also a type of autism, which is high-functioning autism, that is to say, these autisms have genius traits. However, not all autism is genius.

　　Experts say that after receiving professional guidance and training, most autistic patients can integrate into society and support themselves.

Zheng Yi, chief expert in child psychiatry at Beijing Anding Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University:

The earlier the diagnosis and the earlier intervention, the better. As long as the core problems, social interaction ability, communication barriers and stereotyped behaviors are grasped, these aspects can be targeted. If you intervene and treat it locally, the effect will be very good.

　　(CCTV News Client)