Class: 23 Undergraduate Class 3 in Digital Media
Name: Xiang Weijie
Position: Volunteer Service for Caring for Children with Autism
Location: Shanghai Sanyecao Children's Health Park
According to statistics, there are over 10 million individuals with autism in China, of which approximately 2 million are known as the children of the stars with autism. Autism cannot heal on its own, and if parents do not take it seriously, their child's symptoms will become increasingly severe. Children with autism are generally unable to take care of themselves, and emotional and behavioral issues can seriously affect the quality of life for themselves and their families. If children do not receive timely scientific intervention, their symptoms will worsen, their abilities will deteriorate, and the gap between them and their peers will continue to widen. Children with autism face increasing challenges in education, employment, and other areas, with more difficulties than the general population. Similarly, long-term home-based learning and education may also lead to children gradually being separated from society, while also putting pressure on parents and the entire family.
During the winter vacation of 2024, I participated in a volunteer service activity at Shanghai Sanyecao Children's Health Park. Before participating in volunteer service, I learned a lot about autism online. Autism, also known as autism, occurs in early childhood and is a congenital developmental disorder. And in this process, I also learned that children with autism have a beautiful name - Star Child.
At the Xuhui Three Leaf Grass Children's Health Park where I went, they implemented a one person management, one person system for volunteers. So during the five days of my service, I have been taking care of the same autistic patient. That autistic child can be said to be one of the worst situations in the entire kindergarten, with relatively severe autism symptoms and epilepsy. This situation made me feel at a loss when I first came into contact with him, and the child didn't even want to look at me on the first day. It wasn't until I asked the teacher how to interact better with him that I realized that children with autism also have personalities and unique ways of expressing themselves.
Since then, I have been learning how to communicate with my teacher and trying to form a good understanding with him. Due to the fact that my class consists of older children who have already reached school age, their cultural classes will be more and more difficult compared to other children. Although they are learning knowledge that normal children can master proficiently in kindergarten, for autistic children, singing nursery rhymes and reading texts is a huge challenge, let alone focusing on completing some exercises. I was also guided to interact, play, and teach with the child in a posture of half embracing them from behind. It is said that this posture will give the recipient a sense of safety and warmth. However, after this volunteer service, I realized that for children with autism, learning is a way to achieve self affirmation. As teachers and volunteers, what we should do the most is to affirm them, regardless of whether they are doing well enough. Praise and approval are the best ways to make children smile. Scoring them 100 points on their homework and praising them for reading well... all of these can make them feel incredibly happy and also motivate them to think of themselves as excellent children.
The child I take care of has a bad habit - he likes to lie on the ground, but he also has a very cute trait. Whenever I say: Don't get up and sit in your seat again, the teacher won't like you.. He would get up from the ground with a smile and then return to his position. So I believe that autistic children, like ordinary children, also hope to be noticed and loved. Feeling love is important to them, as it can help them gain some sense of security and also encourage them to be more willing to express their thoughts.
After this service, I believe they are indeed from the stars, a group of lovely angels who are worth guarding with all our hearts. After this experience, I think I have gained a better understanding of autism and learned many ways to take care of children. On the way back from the last service, I was seriously contemplating what we could really help them with. They are children of stars, and their radiance has nothing to do with society or anyone. What can we volunteers do? He hasn't remembered you well and met you before you left. But the teacher told me that when you play and study with him, let them shine in their own world.
Finally, I hope that people can have more understanding, patience, and care for such children. May the children of the stars shine their light on the earth, allowing more people and warmth to enter the hearts of the stars.
