Art illuminates the world of autistic children

His autism makes his behavior unpredictable and severely curtails his linguistic ability, but after four years in an art therapy program, his teachers believe he has discovered an artistic language all his own, Xinhua reports.

World Autism Awareness Day on Wednesday has brought the kind of art therapy that lights up the -- often quite dark -- world of autistic children. Xiao Man learned to paint at classes offered by the Beijing Golden Wings Art Rehabilitation Service Center for Disabled Children. At the center, six kids wearing aprons splattered with dried paint are copying from various pictures. Kang Kang is painting two spotty dogs sitting on green grass. Asked why he likes painting, he replies without raising his head, "I like painting doggy." Kang Kang shakes hands with everyone he meets and introduces himself in a fairly clear voice. Cheng Cheng quietly draws a house with perfect proportions. Also a pianist, Cheng Cheng has performed several times with professional orchestras. These kids are the fortunate ones. China is home to an estimated 1.6 million autistic people. Very few of them ever find things they enjoy doing and fewer still get access to art-rehab. "Art is expensive. Autistic kids usually have one parent as a full-time carer and costs for families are high," says Zhang Junru, founder of Golden Wings. Zhang, a veteran entrepreneur, has completely overhauled Golden Wings' funding. Art lessons are completely free, and revenue comes from from sales of the children's paintings. Twenty percent of the money received goes straight to the artists themselves, and Xiao Man now generates an annual income of several thousand yuan, according to his mother Yu Hua. Just like any mother, for Yu the only thing that really matters is that her son has something he likes to do. Yu was forced to retire from her job as an accountant at the young age of 43 to care for her son. "I used to worry about him a lot as he had nothing to do but wander about," she says. Yu recalls when her son was diagnosed. "At first, I could not accept what I was being told. I had no idea what would become of him. At that time in China, ordinary people knew very little about autism."

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