From Being Helped to Helping Others
“From Being Helped to Helping Others” has always been RM’s long term goal. We hope that through our 4 S services (Sponsorship, Service Trips, Seminars & Support for urgent medical need), we can continue to support, love, and make a difference in the lives of those we help. We also look forward to the day when they will not only live and work independently but also give back to society and bless others with the same kind of love they received.
The author of this article, Ms. Zheng Dong, is one of those who received our support. We met her and her family during a short-term service trip in 2017. I remember Zheng Dong was suffering from a severe anxiety disorder at the time, and she felt it was difficult to leave home. She was unable to take care of her husband who has a long-term illness and her son Liang Haoran, who is on the autism spectrum. Through RM’s sponsorship program, Haoran began to receive treatments at the Angel House Autism Rehabilitation Center. With the loving care and guidance of our local co-worker, YY, Haoran has made significant progress in just over a year. As a parent, Zheng Dong has been greatly encouraged. The symptoms of anxiety gradually disappeared, and her body and spirit slowly recovered. At the same time, her faith in God grows stronger as the days go by. With the help of YY, she learned to rely upon God each day and continue to experience His love and grace in her life.
During our visits to China in the ensuing years, we became not only impressed by Haoran’s progress but also saw the potential in Zheng Dong to become a teacher. After a year of waiting upon God’s timing through prayers, we sent an invitation to Zheng Dong. After much consideration and the ability to make arrangements, she gladly accepted our offer and assignment. With the assistance of YY, she is actively learning theories and techniques and preparing to use her experience and education to reach out to more children with autism and their families.
The following is Ms. Zheng Dong’s sharing:
I am the mother of a child with autism. It has been 8 years since my son Liang Haoran was diagnosed with autism. Looking back now, my experience of raising a disabled child is vivid and unforgettable.
Like all parents, at first my heart was filled with despair and helplessness. I struggled with pain every day. After a long period of adjustment, my heart was finally at peace and we went back to normal life. I decided to take my child to a center for rehabilitation.
There are several public rehabilitation centers in our city. We chose one and he received rehabilitative training. My child attended the school 5 days/week from age 2 to 7 and I accompanied him daily. Not only did he not make progress, he developed emotional problems. He cried and self-harmed himself every day. I felt great pressure and lived in anxiety and fear. As it became more and more serious, I did not even dare to take my child out. I stayed at home every day and did not have strength to do anything. My child had nothing to do. I found no hope in life.
When I was at my lowest, individuals from RM and Angel House Autism Rehabilitation Center learned about our situation, visited me at home and offered us financial help. RM’s sponsorship program funded Liang Haoran’s tuition, allowing him to receive rehabilitation training at Angel House. That was when I began to learn about and realize the effectiveness of social skills training to help children on the autism spectrum.
This kind of social interventive training is not available in other institutions. It advocates learning and practicing independent living skills in one’s daily life. Many institutions only provide training for the sake of training. In the end, most parents are exhausted physically and mentally because their children cannot learn well. Many of their children grow into adulthood without skills to take care of themselves or even leave their homes, not to mention living and working independently without family support.
When I first learned about social rehabilitative training, I hoped I could have time to focus on learning and then implement the knowledge and techniques to improve the development of my child. But due to my family’s financial situation, I had to go out to do hourly work. There was no time for me to study. Although sometimes teachers would provide some training for parents, I felt I had not learned enough.
Recently, RM approached me and offered an opportunity to financially support me so I could learn and equip myself to become a teacher for children on the autism spectrum. I became convinced this was God’s calling and blessing. God loves me very much and gave me the opportunity to study and help others. Looking back on my own experience, I also hope more children can receive social skills training. When children get the training and rehabilitation they need, they free and help their parents by diminishing their anxiety and pain.
I believe this is a special assignment from God. He made my weak heart strong and my dark life bright. He filled my heart with His love. I will definitely study hard, apply the methods I master to help the children, understand them, care for them, love them, and cultivate their potentials so they can live and work independently, give back to society, and become a blessing to others.
Zheng Dong October 13, 2020
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