Katherine Arms, Beijing-based writer
© Upinarms, China
In China,
there were no facilities to educate autistic children until Tian Huiping started
a school in Beijing to help her son and other sufferers.
When Tian Huiping discovered that her son, Taotao, was autistic, the world
closed in on her. Her doctor in the huge inland metropolis of Chongqing had never
seen a case of autism and was in no position to give any counsel.
Neither could she turn to a community or a government department for support, China
being a country where disabilities are even today not publicly discussed, scarcely
researched and to all intents and purposes not treated.
Now, eight years after the painful discovery of Taotao’s condition, Tian has managed
not only to find a way to support her son, but also through creating the country’s
first and so far only school for autistic children, has offered a ray of hope to
those suffering from the disease.
To bring the Stars and Rain School for autistic children to where it is today required
determination, hard work and creativity in fund-raising. It also demanded a drive
to keep going even when the mission seemed doomed. “People say to me, ‘Why should
we spend all of this time and money if there is no cure?’ I try to tell them that
to get a child functioning will give that child a better life,” she says.
Tian came to Beijing in 1992 with nothing but a suitcase and her son to look for
someone who could offer her help and advice. One doctor’s office had a pamphlet about
children with autism, a condition marked by severely limited responsiveness to others
and abnormal speech patterns. From what little information the pamphlet gave her,
Tian decided she was the best person to try and help Taotao, now 14. Her personal
quest soon turned into a mission to help others like her.
Her idea for a school was picked up by a businessman who thought it might be a good
way to make money. She enrolled six autistic children and hired two teachers. The
businessman backed out of their arrangement but Tian was so encouraged by the improvement
of the children that she and one of the teachers decided to go it alone. They packed
all their possessions into a cardboard box and moved to a single dingy room in Beijing.
The fees for the course, which among other things teaches parents to help their children
and lasts about three months, are about $120 per child—a lot of money in a country
where most make just about that each month. Even so, these funds are insufficient.
Thankfully, Tian’s work has attracted the attention of the foreign community in Beijing,
and a few foreign children from diplomat families have attended the school.
Tian says that to meet annual costs she needs to raise about $12,000, while development
will demand another $24,000. The school has received aid from the Canada Fund, the
Austrian government, and Hong Kong’s Round Table, a philanthropic organization. For
the past few years a Christmas Bazaar has been held at the German embassy in Beijing
with some of the proceeds going to Tian’s school.
Before Stars and Rain, autistic children in Beijing could only attend schools for
the mentally disabled. In many cases this doesn’t work well for autistic children
because often they are extremely intelligent and above the level being taught. Stars
and Rain tries to enable the child to function first, and then hopefully integrate
into regular schools.
When Tian started the school and parents would come to her or telephone from across
the country asking for information about autism to help their children, she had a
list of three doctors in China who could diagnose the illness. Now, six years later,
she proudly shows a list of more than 20 doctors who have an understanding of autism.
The school holds four sessions a year and is booked at least six months in advance.
The current session has 27 pupils and that’s about the maximum the school can handle
at a time.
Next project on Tian’s horizon: raising money to buy a house for adult sufferers.
