From the mountain city of Chengdu to the almost sea-level city of Beijing, a committed and talented group of individuals are working together to bring a new hope and new future for families with children with autism.
It all started in 2014 when, based on the success of the Touching Hearts in Tibet project, the government of China requested for SEAPC to assist in establishing a high-quality support system for children with autism, their families, and teachers. This led to The Chinese-American International Cooperation Training for Children with Autism, lovingly known as CARE.
In the USA, Kim Bennett and Rachel Kittenbrink, both very experienced in working with children with autism, combined their education and backgrounds to work alongside our friends in China, Dr. Jia Meixiang of The Beijing Association for Rehabilitation of Autistic Children and Gail Ding.
Together, over the years, hundreds of teachers in China have received training, and specific individuals have come to the United States for more intensive education. Cairn University in Pennsylvania has also been an integral part of the entire project.
Centers for working with children with autism have been developed in Beijing and Chengdu, tied together through this partnership and online training to bless these children and their families. Children who previously had no options for education are receiving specialized education to help them overcome their challenges to thrive.
We are at a key moment in the project in many different areas. The center in Chengdu is growing and in need of a larger space to serve the children. That is a great problem to have! The children and their families are thriving and attracting more to this safe place.
It also means that there will quickly be a need for more workers – thriving children and families means more children and families, leading to more space and workers needed. A recent call between project leaders discussed the inability of doing in-person training in China or having specific individuals come to the USA for in-depth training as had been happening pre-COVID and how it looks as though that trend will continue for the foreseeable future. They discussed building a library of short videos that focus on one specific technique or issue to address. Rachel has already started to create the videos. The most significant discussion around these videos is addressing as many needed things as possible and the distribution. We want to make sure that they are available to those who need them but are also not taken and used for profit by others. These video trainings will help to improve the skills of current teachers and help bring new teachers.
As a leader in the project with a great passion for children with autism and their families and for doing things in the best way possible for our Father’s glory, Gail has been taking courses online through Cairn University for the past several years to gain her official certification. She has completed her courses and only needs to pass the exam, which is extremely difficult. Gail has said that she may be taking the exam in the coming weeks. Please pray as she does so! Certification would instantly boost her credibility, attract even more families for care, and allow for further expansion of the ministry.
In addition, there is something special happening. There is a push in China for inclusive education for children with special needs in the public school systems. A sister named Lydia is in Beijing, advocating and preparing for this. Would you please pray that God would break through all barriers and allow this major step in all schools throughout the country? It would be a nation-changing decision.
We know that our Father loves everyone, especially those who are considered the least. Children with special needs are among those considered the least in China. It is incredibly encouraging, however, to see the people that He is raising up to come alongside the children and their families to help them reach their full potential, to advocate for their needs and inclusion with others, and to bring them the most important part of their lives — a relationship with Him.
