Recently, Lei Wenfeng, an autistic boy aged 15, died in a foster care center, which once again aroused the attention of the society to this special group of autism. Especially for older autistic patients, the situation they face is more difficult. Helplessness from family, social indifference, policy blank and so on make them unable to see the future and become a special group with nowhere to live. Their life, survival and future don't know where to go.

The Beijing News also interviewed several elderly people with autism. Through the living conditions and stories of this special group, what is the life of the parents of the elderly with autism? How should the child's future go on? Through children's stories, society will pay more attention to them and find solutions to their difficulties.

Different older people with autism have the same sadness and helplessness.

Cheng Cheng, 2 1 year-old autistic, with a height of 1.85, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two, and the fate of the whole family changed from then on. His mother Zhou Hui took him to an institution for rehabilitation training for two years. In 2008, his father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and died soon after. The family economy collapsed. Hui Zhou can't go out to work. Mother and son live on the monthly subsistence allowance in 76 yuan and the support of relatives and friends, plus the monthly disability allowance in 300 yuan given by the government, with a total monthly income of more than 2,000 yuan.

They live in the house where Cheng Cheng's father lived before his death, and the monthly rent is 2000 yuan, which she has been unable to pay for a long time. Even if you buy food, you should go while it is dark and buy cheap food at a discount.

Hui Zhou has diabetes and needs insulin injections all the year round, but she doesn't want to spend money, which makes her condition worse. She often feels desperate and even wants to leave this world with her children. One Spring Festival, I desperately wanted to strangle my child, but suddenly I woke up.

Taylor, a 32-year-old autistic patient, and five other partners are taken care of by Hui Ling, a community-based service organization that provides services for people with mental retardation and autism over 16 years old. There is also a "celebrity" with autism-Yang Tao, who is also 32 years old-the prototype of "Dafu" with autism played by the actor in the movie Ocean Paradise.

Qin Qin's self-care ability is also very poor. I can't squeeze toothpaste or tie my shoelaces. As a severely autistic person, he used to sit in a fixed position on the sofa, put his pillow at a fixed angle and walk along a fixed route.

Except for the hard life of older autistic people here. Hui Ling also faces the dilemma of being forced to move after the lease expires. Ryan, a Z teacher, told reporters that there are more than 60 students in Hui Ling, and each student pays about 3,000 yuan per month according to different situations. Some orphans and poor families will also reduce their fees appropriately, but these fees are far from enough for Hui Ling to pay rent and teachers' salaries, and social donations are not fixed. Therefore, economic pressure has caused a shortage of professionals.

Hong Wen, who is in her 60s, has a 27-year-old daughter with autism. Helpless, she took the initiative to make changes. In 20 12, the Connors Autism Family Support Center she founded was born.

In her vision for the future of her daughter who can hardly live independently, she hopes that autistic patients like her daughter can enter a supportive employment place after receiving rehabilitation and employment training. The service system established by the government can include her daughter in the service target, and social workers will accompany and support her regularly until her death.

From 2065438 to August 2004, Rain Man Baking Workshop was established in Connecticut, USA, to teach older autistic patients to learn baking, hoping that they can master certain vocational skills according to their own characteristics.

Connecticut is working in this direction. They hope that people with autism can make cakes and then sell them to the outside world to form a self-hematopoietic mechanism. But at present, the effect is not ideal.

A huge group, a weak position. Where should older people with autism go?

According to the data, at present, the incidence of autistic patients in China is about1100, and the total number reaches100000, of which the population above 14 is about 8 million.

At present, the preferential policies for autistic patients at the government level are mainly aimed at children aged 0-6, but have not yet benefited older autistic patients.

"I'm gone, what about the children?" This is the ultimate anxiety of almost all older families with autism.

Excessive family pressure, worrying organization operation, lack of skills training and supportive workplace. Under multiple difficulties, the elderly with autism don't know what to do.

Supported employment, as a mode of employment placement for the disabled, takes into account the abilities and personality characteristics of the disabled, and works as a librarian, supermarket tallyman, pastry chef and handicraft maker with the assistance of special personnel. In the United States, China, Taiwan Province Province and other places have been relatively mature.

But it is extremely difficult in China.

Older autistic patients are in a worrying situation: because many people regard them as "useless people" and "burdensome" (although many people don't admit it, the reality they encounter has profoundly confirmed this), some families choose to "euthanize" them in helplessness and disappointment, which is explicitly prohibited by the state, but they cannot be protected from the policy level at present; Autistic children, especially older autistic patients, have almost no legal and policy protection, and there is no special and suitable foster care center. Even the death of Lei Wenfeng, a 65,438+05-year-old autistic teenager, in a foster care center made people feel as horrible as a prison.

The Beijing News reporter found that nursing homes think he is young, orphanages think he is old, and children in mental hospitals are afraid. For older patients with autism, this has become a heavy and helpless reality that can't be solved-lonely old people can go to nursing homes, young orphans can be taken in orphanages, mental patients can go to mental hospitals for treatment, and school-age autistic children can receive training in various rehabilitation institutions and hospitals. Only elderly people with autism have serious faults in rescue and eventually become helpless vagrants.

Parents of older autistic people will get old one day. School-age rehabilitation training has put them under unbearable economic pressure. In addition, the mental and economic pressures they will have to bear in the next few decades have exhausted their hard work and money. The cost of rehabilitation training for autistic children under 6 years old is still partially subsidized by the state, while older autistic children become a vacuum zone for policy protection. Many families with autism barely survive on subsistence allowances and subsidies for the disabled. The situation is even more difficult for people with autism in remote areas.

These older people with autism have brought an unbearable burden to their families. Many families are in financial difficulties for the support, treatment and care of patients, and their parents are on the verge of collapse, so that there is a human tragedy in which parents kill autistic children. The endless pain of raising patients may not be the most terrible for parents. What they are most worried about is, "What about the children when we are old?"

When parents die of old age, elderly autistic people seem to have to make their own living.

How can such a situation continue the life path of older autistic patients? It's not just desolation with nowhere to talk about.

The lifelong service system needs to be established urgently, lighting the blue light and helping the stars together.

The media has also called on more than once not to ignore elderly people with autism. At the national level, we should come up with systematic care and assistance policies for this group, including setting up special institutions to provide care services for elderly patients who can't take care of themselves, and providing assistance to families of autistic patients covering all ages, and the standard of assistance funds should be greatly improved; Cooperate with non-profit organizations and enterprises to establish vocational training centers and sheltered workshops for autistic patients in various places to help autistic patients win value and dignity through work.

Many interviewed mothers expressed their hope that the country could set up a fund, and they saved money and gave it to the fund. "The house can also be given to the country." When they are too old to take care of their children, the state will take care of them until they die. Or set up a pension institution that accepts both the elderly and children, so that they can live with their children when they are old.

Ms. Sun, a Connecticut worker, has an autistic son Siyang (a pseudonym), 2 1 year old. On 20 14, she sold the house in her hometown in Hubei, took Siyang to Beijing to recover, and found a job in Connecticut.

This is a ray of hope seen in misfortune.

At this year's National People's Congress, Sun, deputy to the National People's Congress and former deputy director of the Education Department of Jilin Province, submitted a proposal on improving the lifelong security system for autistic children and adolescents, suggesting increasing investment in lifelong security for autistic children. I hope to establish a lifelong service system for autistic groups, with different needs of care at all stages from birth to death.

Dai Rong, president of the National Federation of Parents' Organizations of Mentally Retarded Persons, said: "Our expectation for the future life mode is that our children or we can all live in the community in the future, and at least have the right to choose whether to live in the community or foster care institutions. This will not be much different from our original living environment, not in a so-called' beautiful place, far from the world', with no village in front and no shop in the back, and will be closed and isolated as a large foster care institution. All parts of the country are vigorously building such large institutions. Because there are no community service institutions, large-scale foster care institutions have become the only choice for our parents and children. Only yes or no, the imperfection of the social system must be promoted step by step. We have a lot to do, but what we can do is very limited. I hope that more parents can stand up and speak out, promote change and form institutional changes. "

Caring for autistic children is also the responsibility of the whole society. Since 2008, April 2nd every year has been designated as "World Autism Awareness Day" to raise people's attention to autism and related research and diagnosis, as well as people with autism.

20 17 At 7: 00 pm on April 2, 2007, 20 17 Global Run and the 3rd "Light Blue" National Run for Autistic Children will also be launched in 36 countries around the world. This year is the third.

The event will focus on Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and hundreds of running groups from 30 provinces and cities across the country will run around landmark buildings at the same time to jointly light up blue lights; Runners in major cities around the world, such as Tokyo, Paris, new york and London, run around landmark buildings at the same time; More than 10000 countries 136 landmarks (such as Tokyo, Paris, Dubai, new york, London, etc. ) lit up the blue light and lit up the hope of World Autism Day.

Of course, caring for autistic children, Henan is also in action.

China Autism Network, together with service teams and volunteers from more than ten units and organizations such as Zhengzhou Kangda Run Group, Yamato Network Yuedong Run Group, Zhengzhou Autism Parents Mutual Aid Association, Zhengzhou Jinshui Feng Chun Social Work Service Center, launched the 20 17 "Light Blue" global joint run and the first "Rainbow Run" at Wen Hui Villa of Baisha Reservoir in Xuanhua Town, Dengfeng, Zhengzhou at 7 pm on April 2. This joint running activity will recruit 100 runners for the society, and run 4.2 kilometers for love with more than 100 running groups across the country, calling on the whole society to pay attention to "star children" and give them acceptance and care.

Autistic elderly people can also be volunteers, run together, use our strength to light up blue hope and make a contribution to the future of autistic elderly people.

Tian Yun Gege is the master of Tian Yun, not a famous writer. Tea is fragrant and Zheng is reading a book. Originally named Xu Hengfu, he was born in Lanzhou and now lives in Zhengzhou. Record love stories, share wonderful worlds, and comment on current events. There is matter, attitude and temperature.