At about one-and-half years old, Ka-chun was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Noticing his unusual behaviors such as repeatedly scratching himself, touching the sofa with his lips and uttering unusual noises (dat-dat-dat), his mom was alerted that an early intervention was needed for him. Therefore, she sought and tried various therapies such as speech therapy and occupational therapy. She even tried out the unconventional treatments such as dietary treatment and acupuncture.
As time goes by Ka-chun’s behavioral issues had not showed any sign of improvement. At five years old, Ka-chun still had no self-help abilities such as washing his face, brushing his teeth, or getting dressed by himself. He lacked responsive verbal skills, social skills and eye-contact. Due to his rigid behavior, he would only drink one type of drink and eat one type of food. Thus, taking him out would be a great challenge. For example, he would scream or roll on the floor if a different bus or a different route to school was taken. Also, if his favorite seat on a bus was taken by another passenger, he would scream and shout at that passenger. His rigidities and tantrum issues created a lot of difficulties and stress for the family. For the family, they started to worry if he had passed the golden age for treatment and started to lose hope for his future.
When Ka-chun was five and a half years old, a life-changing opportunity was opened up, which brought a new ray of hope to the family. Ka-chun’s case was reviewed by Autism Partnership Foundation (APF) and it referred him to study at Aoi Pui School (APS). After attending APS for only one month, Ka-chun has shown significant improvement in speech, social skills and his overall academic level.
Before attending APS, Ka-chun had very poor verbal skills, a low ability to learn academic subjects such as writing, and poor social skills. Ka-chun could only speak one or two words and seldom took the initiative to speak. However, after a month of studying at APS, Ka-chun could speak a full sentence and express his request such as “I want to go to the supermarket to buy potato chips”. Also, his mom was surprised to find out that Ka-chun could learn academic subjects such as mathematics and writing Chinese words. He can write the mathematics formula on paper and do two-digit addition. He also can write over 100 Chinese characters at home and even more at school.
Before studying at APS, Ka-chun was not socializing with any classmates. After three months at APS, he had made significant progress. Now, when he sees his classmate on the street from afar, he will take the initiative to wave at him and call out his name. At home, Ka-chun has started playing with his sister proactively and interactively. The family now has a more harmonious and fun time together.
Recently, Ka-chun has also learned the negotiation skills. He has more cognitive skills now and can understand what the teachers or others say to him. Seeing these positive changes in Ka-chun, his mom has started to see the hope and dreams that she had almost given up. Those dreams she never thought could be realized and now she can start to hope and plan for Ka-chun such as having him study in a mainstream school and traveling together with the whole family. Now, she wishes Ka-chun can grow up happily and be able to live a normal life.
