From the mountain city of Chengdu to the almost sea-levelcity of Beijing, a committed and talented group of individuals are workingtogether to bring a new hope and new future for families with children withautism.
It all started in 2014 when, based on the success of theTouching Hearts in Tibet project, the government of China requested for SEAPCto assist in establishing a high-quality support system for children withautism, their families, and teachers. This led to The Chinese-AmericanInternational Cooperation Training for Children with Autism, lovingly known asCARE.
In the USA, Kim Bennett and Rachel Kittenbrink, both veryexperienced in working with children with autism, combined their education andbackgrounds to work alongside our friends in China, Dr. Jia Meixiang of TheBeijing Association for Rehabilitation of Autistic Children and Gail Ding.
Together, over the years, hundreds of teachers in China havereceived training, and specific individuals have come to the United States formore intensive education. Cairn University in Pennsylvania has also been anintegral part of the entire project.
Centers for working with children with autism have beendeveloped in Beijing and Chengdu, tied together through this partnership andonline training to bless these children and their families. Children whopreviously had no options for education are receiving specialized education tohelp them overcome their challenges to thrive.
We are at a key moment in the project in many differentareas. The center in Chengdu is growing and in need of a larger space to servethe children. That is a great problem to have! The children and their familiesare thriving and attracting more to this safe place.
It also means that there will quickly be a need for moreworkers – thriving children and families means more children and families,leading to more space and workers needed. A recent call between project leadersdiscussed the inability of doing in-person training in China or having specificindividuals come to the USA for in-depth training as had been happeningpre-COVID and how it looks as though that trend will continue for theforeseeable future. They discussed building a library of short videos thatfocus on one specific technique or issue to address. Rachel has already startedto create the videos. The most significant discussion around these videos isaddressing as many needed things as possible and the distribution. We want tomake sure that they are available to those who need them but are also not takenand used for profit by others. These video trainings will help to improve theskills of current teachers and help bring new teachers.
As a leader in the project with a great passion for childrenwith autism and their families and for doing things in the best way possiblefor our Father’s glory, Gail has been taking courses online through CairnUniversity for the past several years to gain her official certification. Shehas completed her courses and only needs to pass the exam, which is extremelydifficult. Gail has said that she may be taking the exam in the coming weeks.Please pray as she does so! Certification would instantly boost hercredibility, attract even more families for care, and allow for furtherexpansion of the ministry.
In addition, there is something special happening. There isa push in China for inclusive education for children with special needs in thepublic school systems. A sister named Lydia is in Beijing, advocating andpreparing for this. Would you please pray that God would break through allbarriers and allow this major step in all schools throughout the country? Itwould be a nation-changing decision.
We know that our Father loves everyone, especially those whoare considered the least. Children with special needs are among thoseconsidered the least in China. It is incredibly encouraging, however, to seethe people that He is raising up to come alongside the children and theirfamilies to help them reach their full potential, to advocate for their needsand inclusion with others, and to bring them the most important part of theirlives — a relationship with Him.