Art class enables children with autism to socialize

Half an hour before class, art teacher Dong Fangyi starts to prepare for the day, putting out brushes and canvas with the help of his 14-year-old student Dazhi (pseudonym).

Later, the scene in the class is a little out of the ordinary, as some students are silent and concentrating while others are restless and excited, banging on their desks.

All the children in the class have been diagnosed with autism. The painting studio was founded by a public welfare service center in Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, which mainly involves parents of neurodiverse children, or those with mental difficulties, from more than 600 households.

With an operation model of mutual assistance, the parents are not attempting to rehabilitate their children, but are allowing them to develop their abilities through proper social interaction.

"Through painting, they can improve their artistic creativity and concentration while gaining some confidence," says Chen Ao, founder of the center, also the mother of a child with autism.

Having taught the children for more than five years, Dong is now one of their best friends. He himself has a family member with autism, and organized the art class in conjunction with other parents.

"For those showing stronger learning abilities, they are given more free rein to create. We guide those with weaker self-control with one-on-one help," Dong says.

"We give more detailed painting subjects for quiet personality types and use some different coaching skills to lead the others. For instance, motivating their hand movement by tapping the table or even putting the pigment on their hands," he adds.

After years of training and guidance, the children have gradually gained some basic self-care abilities and some can even do housework, like cooking meals, by themselves.

Autism in China has an incidence rate of 0.7 percent, and more than 2 million children under the age of 12 are diagnosed with autism. The figure is rising by about 200,000 each year, according to a report released in 2019. This year's World Autism Awareness Day fell on April 2, aiming to raise public awareness to show respect, love and care for neurodivergent minors.

"I hope that, after undergoing a long period of interactive training, they can depend on themselves to earn an income, find a sense of achievement, true respect and the platforms and opportunities to do so," Dong says.