As the parent of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I am often asked by other parents about my experiences. They wanted to know how I got through it and, more importantly, how my son was doing now. We’ve been doing this for years and I’m happy to say he’s doing a great job. We are proud of him and ourselves and proud of the progress we have made together on this journey. Everything is getting better, always getting better…
We live in a beautiful coastal city – Xiamen, located in the southeast of China, across the sea from Taiwan. Changjen is our second child. He was born in 2014. He also has a brother who is 5 years older. Like most parents, we were extremely excited about Changjen’s birth and full of hopes and dreams for his life and happiness. We try to do everything right and keep track of every milestone. At first, when he was 1-2 years old, the delay was slight and he learned simple words like most children. It was not until he was nearly 2.5 years old that the problem became more and more obvious. Changjen’s slow progress in language skills made it difficult for him to express his needs or wishes, which made him frustrated and difficult, which in turn led to his increasing isolation from other children. We took him to the child development and behavior department of the hospital. After evaluation, the doctor diagnosed him with autism spectrum disorder(ASD). When he was diagnosed with ASD, we felt like the sky was falling! How can it be? God must be kidding! Every night, looking at his face as peaceful as an angel sleeping soundly, I don’t want to believe this fact. I hope that when I wake up tomorrow morning, it’s just a nightmare.
We started researching information, seeking professional help, and conducting various assessments, and finally got him into early intervention and special education school. He received an individual education plan in school, and fortunately, after A few years of early education intervention, everything is getting better.
I’m a programmer, and my wife is a company employee. When Changjen was diagnosed with ASD, I started working part-time and spent most of my time with him.
We built this website to record Changjen’s growth process and to let you understand how children with special needs learn, live, and grow in China.
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