Son's struggles lead mom to create special school

Zhou Jiakai, an autistic man, has a fixed daily schedule.

After waking up, he washes his face, brushes his teeth and cleans his room. The 21-year-old has lunch around noon, takes a nap and then begins painting. After dinner, he usually goes for a stroll with his mother.

Zhou's mother, Zhao Weihua, had difficulty digesting that her son had the disorder when he was growing up.

"At first, I couldn't accept the reality of what was happening," said Zhao, 49. "But after I learned more, I began to face the truth (about his condition)."

She discovered that the biggest challenge parents have with raising autistic children is communication, which can lead to a breakdown in relationships.

With training and rehabilitation, autistic children can develop their language skills, as well as their cognitive and comprehensive capabilities, and can gradually reach the developmental level of other children in their age group, Zhao said.

"However, interpersonal problems are the hardest to resolve because they emerge at various stages in their development, so it may take a long time to overcome them," she said.

As there were few rehabilitation centers for autistic children in China before 2005, and those that existed mainly focused on training parents to deal with the condition, Zhao decided to quit her job as a teacher that year and establish a "homeland" for children with mental disabilities in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, to help them learn to live normal lives.

She launched the Starlight Autism Rehabilitation Training Center, the first of its kind in Ningxia, after years of searching for ways to help Zhou.

"My original hope was to create a better environment for autistic children to grow up and help more kids with the condition learn how to better interact with their families," she said.

But setting up the institution was tougher than she thought it would be. Obtaining approval to operate the school was the first challenge. Zhao said it took her about six months to earn a qualification from Yinchuan's disabled persons' federation.

Funding was another challenge. In addition to using her own money, Zhao had to solicit donations from the public and recruit volunteers to work at the center.

Trying to find a fixed location for the school was also a concern. Between 2009 and 2015, the center was relocated six times, moving in and out of apartment buildings, commercial housing units, basements and even abandoned classrooms.

In 2015, the center moved to the third floor of a kindergarten, where it still operates today.

Since its launch, more than 1,500 children with autism, Down syndrome and other mental disabilities have received training at the center, where they are taught basic living skills and their ability to socialize is further developed.

Zhao said that she remembers an autistic girl whose parents had died. An aunt rented an apartment near the center so the girl could attend training every day.

"I was very touched by her story and decided to waive the tuition fees for her," she said.

Zhou, who also attended the school, is now able to live on his own.

With an artistic streak, he has been painting daily since the beginning of last year.

"Every week, he finishes three paintings, and spends seven or eight straight hours working on each one," Zhao said. "He is so focused that I won't bother him for anything unless he has finished."

She plans to hold an exhibition for her son's paintings soon and hopes to raise more awareness about autistic people.

"It's precisely because my son was a kid with autism that I took a different path from people the same age as me," Zhao said.

"Everyone encounters hardship, and though I faced many difficulties in the past, I don't think it's hard any more. I have already overcome my most challenging moments."

Nie Linjiao in Yinchuan contributed to this story.