Extending Care for Disabled Children

By+staff+reporter+HOU+RUILI

SPECIAL education gives meaning to the lives of children with disabilities whose conditions are beyond help from medical science.

Physically or mentally deprived as they are， children with special needs， unlike their able-bodied peers who can study and progress unaided， depend on special education to survive and make the most of their faculties.

Of the conditions that render a person disabled， even that of profound hearing impairment is less detrimental to their quality of life than mental disorders. Children thus afflicted need even greater educational input. Growing social awareness of the need for special education has brought about rapid development in this field.

Life Skills

A courteous 15-year-old boy of a tall and straight stature helps his teachers at the gate of Beijing Haidian Special Education School， south of Renmin University of China， usher in his younger schoolmates. It is hard to believe that not long ago this smart-looking boy suffered from severe mental disorders. Ming Ming （pseudonym） attended regular primary school until the fourth grade， when he started suffering seizures that made concentration and coping with the required study tasks impossible. His parents transferred him to this special education school， which takes students with mental disorders and impairments， including autism， psychosis and cerebral palsy.

The special education school taught Ming Ming how to cope with daily life. His mathematics teacher not only taught him simple addition and subtraction， but also showed him how money works. His Chinese teacher taught him everyday vocabulary in a real life setting. For example， to make students understand the word “supermarket” the teacher took them to an actual supermarket and explained how to shop. To understand the concept of eating breakfast outside the home， a teacher took students to the Heguyuan Restaurant to explain how to use a menu and order breakfast.

As the Haidian Special Education School headmistress Yu Wen remarked，“Although they have learning difficulties， they can still be taught what they need to know in daily life.”

Everyday scenarios， such as a traffic lights and pedestrian crossings， have been set up on campus， one of them between the teaching building and the playground. Whenever leading students pass these sections， teachers explain the traffic rules.

The water dispenser is amid a tearoom like recreational setting of book shelves and chess boards. One of the teachers explained that the school works on the principle of environmental educa- tion. Students who find it difficult to hold a cup steady are encouraged to sit comfortably and slowly take a drink of water. For such children， learning to drink water is a vital living skill.

The student/teacher ratio at the Haidian Special Education School is 2.5 to one， five times that of a regular school.

Chinas special education started in the late 1980s. There are now 1，853 schools in cities and counties with a population of over 300，000 that offer children with disabilities a nine-year compulsory education. Enrollment rate in these regions is nearly 90 percent， and those in big cities like Beijing， Shanghai， and Tianjin 100 percent. Children with minor disabilities – more than half of the total – attend regular schools.

Beijing Haidian Special Education School was established in 1987. There are more than 300 students on its campus. The school is also in charge of 700 or more children with minor disabilities attending regular schools. Teachers from the latter come to the Haidian Special Education School every two weeks for training and consultations with its specialized teachers. Each student has their own file at the special education school that records details of their education， growth and progress.

Healthcare and Teaching

Medical rehabilitation as well as daily class is part and parcel of campus life. One tenth of students at the Haidian Special Education School suffer from cerebral palsy. Xiao Jun （pseudonym） is one. When he first came to the school he was unable to talk， or to walk without help. After attending the school， he began to take two motor skills classes and two specially designed language skills classes every day， as well as an array of class activities. Now 12 years old， other than his academic level， which is influenced by the sensory impairment aspect of his condition， Xiao Jun is not obviously different from any other boy his age.

“There is a high demand for rehabilitation teachers – a job that constitutes a vocation. For children with speech impairments， it entails teaching Chinese pronunciation as well as characters， the former of which means training tongue and mouth movements. For children with impaired motor skills， it means training and strengthening their muscles. And for children with emotional and behavioral problems， teachers must be adept at art-related therapies such as calligraphy， music， and dance， which have a calming effect，” headmistress Yu told us.

Ming Mings seizures originate in his inability to control his emotions. The ability he showed in understanding and appreciating art， however， led to his attendance of dance classes that promote his physical and emotional self-control. Dancing is in this way both a remedy and his specialty. After four years training， Ming Ming is now a leading performer of the school dance troupe， and has won awards considered an achievement for able-bodied students. Now a well-adjusted young man， Ming Ming also acts as a teaching assistant.

The forceful strokes of the calligraphy works hanging on the hallway walls belie their having been created by physically or mentally challenged children. “Prac-ticing calligraphy exercises big muscle movements， and helps children improve their spatial awareness. Its also a good activity for soothing emotions，” headmaster Yu said.

There are two doctors on campus from the regions mental health hospital. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine also often come here to give the children free medication and Chinese acupuncture and massage treatments. The acupuncture is effective in subduing the symptoms of cerebral palsy and improving muscle tone. Massage can alleviate emotion-related chronic diseases via skin stimulation.

“Doing no more than taking sedatives can cause side effects such as overweight or drowsiness. But combining them with social activities promotes recovery. Ming Ming is a prime example. When taking medication he also attends school activities. They entail following guidance and completing tasks， so promoting social development. This enables him to take part in community activities later in life as well as keep up his hobbies. Although few of the students here are likely to go on to university， the majority should be able to be competent in their jobs， and some may even excel，” headmistress Yu said.

Door-to-Door Tuition

Since 2005， the Haidian Special Education School teachers have gone to the homes of bedridden students to give them tuition. Yang Tiemei was one of the first， having graduated that year in teacher training.

At that time， there were 20-plus children receiving classes at home. Although she received help from a few untrained volunteer undergraduates， Yang was responsible for teaching them all. This meant she could only see each child once a month. Her appeals for more help resulted in 2008 with the setting up of a professional team of ten to teach children at home. It covers all such children in the region. Each teacher is responsible for seven children， and travels back and forth twice a day from school to their homes. Team members discuss issues that crop up in their daily work at weekly teaching and research meetings. They also visit the children to carry out further research.

“Every spring the regions disabled persons federation sends us a list of new students that need door-to-door teaching. We first contact and then visit them， to assess their situation and work out a specific recovery plan. Each September we assign teachers to the children they will teach at their homes，”Ms. Yang told us.

The twin sisters Ms. Yang began teaching six years ago have made dramatic progress. Their parents are both university professors whose work precludes the time needed to care for their daughters. So the twins grandparents looked after them. When Yang first met them， the girls could utter only sounds rather than words， and their vision was limited to light sensation. Their joint muscles had wasted and they could only move their necks. Their doctor did not expect them to live beyond five years old.

Yang Tiemei has since spent two and a half hours each week giving the twins physiotherapy. It includes touching， massage and positioning to help them recover their sensations. She also reads stories and plays music for them. Gradually， the elder sister has begun to understand her familys predicament， and how difficult life is for her parents. She has stopped waking up and crying in the middle of the night. The younger twin used to have spasms when upset， and fall into a lethargic sleep. She now cries to express her emotions. The twins are 12 years old， and able to move from a lateral to a supine position – a vast improvement from when Yang first met them. Their faces light up when they hear Yang is coming to see them.

No Longer Lonely

The Haidian Special Education School was the first of its kind in 1993 to embark on the education towards recovery of autistic children – a field of research that is still terra incognita.

When Tian Tian first came to school， he displayed the typical symptoms of autism. One was that of rigidity. When the weather was dull， he would spend the whole day shouting at the teachers to find the sun. Any change in class was unacceptable， and sent him into a nonstop screaming fit. Teachers gradually instilled in him a sense of rationality while calming his emotions via the environment. They also taught him types of knowledge that made him feel safer in his surroundings.

Another of Tian Tians symptoms was that of gabbling without pause. He had no control over his breathing， to the extent that he could not even blow out a candle. Playing the tuba in the school brass band required him to regulate his breath. He thus learned how to inhale and exhale properly. Playing in the band also taught the hopelessly egocentric Tian Tian the principle of team cooperation， and to pay attention to his surroundings. He was soon able to control his motor skills， breathe properly and nurture his sense of rhythm as well as muscular strength. Playing a brass musical instrument has brought about all these improvements. Five years later， Tian Tian has friends to hang out with and also keeps a diary. No one would suspect that he has suffered from autism.

The special education school runs courses for teachers from other schools on educating autistic children towards recovery. They combine education with rehabilitation activities that help cultivate social skills. Courses also comprise motor skills training to improve muscle tone and spatial sense， and psychotherapy， art therapy and work-related programs to improve childrens understanding of other peoples intentions and to control their own emotions. To help them overcome hypersensitivity， specially designed motor skills training， as well as music， calligraphy and painting classes have been introduced to diffuse tension. Combined， they enable the children to express themselves more freely.

Care in the Community

Volunteers from Renmin University of China are invited to teach children how to use public transport in a totally strange environment. In this case， children are placed alone in a public environment， but unbeknown to them， volunteers follow the children to ensure they come to no harm.

Teachers take the children to the community close to their school to dance with the senior citizens there. The old ladies then take them for walks and tell them the prices of vegetables at the market. One child who has Downs Syndrome said many times that he wanted to buy a house here where the people treated him so kindly.

“Special education is not limited to these children. It also has social impact in showing the public that they can help those that need it， and that although different， they also deserve respect，”headmistress Yu said. The school has consequently invited large numbers of volunteers from the general public to participate in school extra-curricular activities. “These children will return to society as a whole after nine years of education here. They need it to be one that is open and of caring people. That the public understands and helps them when they graduate is prerequisite to being able to live side by side，” Yu added.

In 2008， the country initiated the largest ever construction plan for special education schools. In the space of four years， central and local governments had invested more than RMB 5.4 billion. Conditions for these schools in urban districts have considerably improved， and 1，182 new special education schools in Chinas central and western regions have been established， rebuilt or expanded. But there are still 80，000 disabled children in remote rural areas that have no chance of going to school.

The government will hence carry on building schools and continue to support local privately-run special education schools by buying services. Child welfare institutions are encouraged to set up special education classes and so expand local special education resources. Students with disabilities will be subsidized in various ways with more than eight-fold the amount allotted to those who are ablebodied. They are exempt from tuition fees and accommodation expenses， and the costs of meals， transport， books and other study articles. Door-to-door teaching will include training for parents and free learning materials that encompass specific areas of study， so emphasizing family education.

Philanthropists also make generous monetary and other types of donations， and hospitals provide regular free medical services to children with disabilities.

“Chinas special education has surpassed that in developed countries in terms of school facilities， and come close to the international level in combining teaching and medical treatments and specialized teaching plans. But there are too few professional physiotherapists in different fields， and more attention should be paid to improving the particularity of education，” headmaster Yu said. The Haidian Special Education School has imported overseas technology and cooperated in training language skills teachers with Australias Macquarie University languages center. It has also worked with China Association of Persons with Psychiatric Disability and Their Relatives， and launched the Applied Behavior Analysis training program on autism promoted by the U.S.s SEEK（Special Education for Exceptional Kids）. The school has also run other motor skills training cooperation programs with Taiwan and Hong Kong SAR. All of them train teachers as well as children.