Landmark buildings in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanchang and many other cities across China illuminate blue on the evening of Thursday, April 2, 2015 in support of Autism Speaks' global annual Light It Up Blue (LIUB) campaign to commemorate World Autism Awareness Day. (Photo/CFP)
While other kids on stage were reciting lines of a poem, Qiuyu refused to say anything. Finally, he said, "My world blooms," which was indeed the last line and the kids walked off the stage to thunderous applause.
The poem may have been finished, but Qiuyu's father's job was far from over. Later, he accompanied Qiuyu's twin brother, Qiuge, onto the stage to perform a dance. The steps were very simple, and other kids were all alone: Mr Chen was the only adult in sight. He squatted behind Qiuge and help him move with the rhythm.
Qiuge and Qiuyu, 12 years old, are autistic twins. Wednesday's performance on the eve of the eighth World Autism Awareness Day was sponsored by the Soong Ching Ling Foundation.
Autistic children have difficulty communicating and interacting with others, and they often fail to recognize or understand others' emotions and feelings
JUST DIFFERENT
Fiddling with an iPad, Qiuge and Qiuyu laugh happily, like any other kids.
The twins were confirmed as autistic at two years old. They could not talk and made little eye contact. Although they were twins, they seldom played together.
Mr Chen and his wife were shocked at the diagnosis. The entire family was mobilized. Two of the boys' aunts came to help the family care the twins. After the diagnosis, Chen felt helpless. He repeated "I am your papa" thousands of times to his sons and they finally responded when they were three years old.
Xuan Xuan, 12, performed a song at Wednesday's show with her teacher, but did not stop singing even when the anchorman on the stage was trying to talk to her.
As the organizer of the show, Xuan Xuan's mother was a little angry and asked staff to turn off her daughter's microphone. "She cannot control herself very well," said her mother, Du Jiamei, a university English teacher and founder of Beijing Xingxiwang Autism Rehabilitation Center.
Xuan Xuan was diagnosed in 2004 during a community screening. Du then began to study the best available autism therapy: Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) from the University of California.
At first, Du and her husband learned techniques to help their daughter. Later, Du conducted her own research and her center has helped nearly 1,000 autistic children since 2011. Du holds that the earlier intervention and treatment is conducted, the higher the possibility of a normal life.
