Nearly three years of pandemic control have been tough for 23-year-old China’s Zu Wenbao, but thanks to Beijing-based Chen Studio, music has become his saving grace.
Zu is one of the 14 million people in China with autism spectrum disorder, a disability caused by differences in the brain compared to the rest of the population. Despite laws to ensure the inclusion of people with autism, many in China know little about the condition and support is still lacking, experts say.
Autism has meant that Zu has not been able to fit in at school or with other young people in his hometown of Bei’an in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. Everything changed when he started taking music lessons for free at Chen’s Studio, which started education for people with autism when the epidemic started.
Zu, who does not speak words, entered Beijing’s five-studio school in 2020. Since then he has learned to play the keyboard and sing along with four other members of the group “Star Kids” their teacher, Chen Shensi, who set up the final. year of people with autism.
“Without music, without this education, he wouldn’t have anything,” said Zu’s mother, Zhao Guorong, who travels with her son every Sunday for two hours on three different buses from her home outside Beijing so he can attend class.
“The youth of the village all go to work or school, so without music and a band, they would not have friends to hang out with,” he added. “Even though the kids who take music lessons are younger than him and half his size, they all treat him like a brother.”
China has passed several laws to ensure the inclusion of people with autism, most recently in September to establish autism screening, diagnosis and intervention for young children.
Despite increased support over the past 20 years, millions of children still lack the behavioral and educational support they need, experts say.
People with autism have a hard time finding work, and the founder of the music school Chen hopes to change this by giving his students a way to earn money: the group Star Kids has already performed several concerts at events held at the camps. outside of Beijing.
Chen says he didn’t know much about autism before he began teaching a bass player with the disorder in 2020.
He said: “It is difficult for them to communicate properly with other people. Not only do they have a full-time job, but they can make a living by being artists.”
“To some extent, I think music can be their language.”
