Coffee boost for young people with autism

Ti Gong

"Latte, Americano, cappuccino or water with lemon?" It seems like a very simple question that could be asked at any cafe. But for Wang Chunqi, a teenager with autism, it took a year to learn how to take an order from customers at A Coffee, which is staffed by young people with autism. 

On Wednesday, under the guidance of an instructor, he took down orders on his notebook from table to table and later delivered what customers wanted. The "customers" were all played by volunteers helping the young people improve their communication skills. 

Wang’s colleague, 14-year-old Ju Sicheng, is more experienced in taking orders and answering questions posed by customers. "At the very beginning, he didn't look at you or care what you said to him. But now he keeps looking into your eyes when talking with you," said a volunteer surnamed Xue, who ordered a cappuccino.

People with autism are often referred to as "children of the stars" in China because they act as if they were from a distant star, cannot communicate with others well and live in their own world. They may look like any other person of their age, but as they develop they show signs such as ignoring others' emotions, being reluctant to talk and having difficulty in expressing themselves. They often display repetitive behavior.

It is thought there are more than 10 million people in China with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a fifth of them under 14.

A Coffee was set up to help these people adapt to society and lead a life of their own. Established on April 2 last year by local nonprofit organization Angel Music Salon, it is celebrating first anniversary. 

The teenagers working at the cafe have changed considerably over the past year.

"Although he is still not good at communication, now he is happy to do some housework like sweeping the floor and washing dishes at home," said Wang's mother. "Sometimes he offers to make me a cup of coffee." 

But since it's still hard for Wang to control his emotions, it takes time for him to talk to others. "He will join the talk about a topic he is interested in," his mother added.

Previously, Wang was afraid to go to places with too many people. These days he looks forward to his shift at the cafe. 

According to 76-year-old Xing, Ju’s grandmother, the boy was very quiet and inarticulate before joining the cafe. 

"Here he changed some bad habits such as always looking down and sometimes bursting into laughter all of a sudden," said Xing. "He communicates with the customers well at the cafe and with the skills he learned here, he can fry an egg for a meal at home or use the microwave to heat up a dish as well as do some other simple housework."

The boys at the cafe no longer keep themselves to themselves but have learned to help each other. "For them, the cafe is like their home," said the grandmother of 16-year-old Dai Wangchen. "When Dai meets someone, he always invites them to visit A Coffee."

Ti Gong

The eight staffers at the cafe are also members of the Angel Music Salon’s instrumental band. The salon was set up 11 years ago to help autistic people by using music therapy.

Founder Cao Xiaoxia — daughter of Chinese conductor Cao Peng — believes that playing music helps people with autism build their self-confidence. The band has more than 60 members, with the youngest just 5 years old. 

Recently the band presented two concerts to mark the 12th World Autism Awareness Day, one on Nanjing Road E. on March 31 and the other at Shanghai Disney Resort on April 2. Both performances were warmly received. 

"They are very focused when learning things and once they learn, they never forget," said Xue. Besides music classes, the salon also provides basic courses in Chinese, math, English, drawing and dancing.

A volunteer surnamed Wang, a high school English teacher, said she often left some easy homework for the teenagers, such as reading a paragraph of English text.

"These teenagers will go to work in the future and we are helping them do some preparation for fitting into society," said Zhang Meizhen, who is in charge of A Coffee. "If they can speak to others fluently and be able to stand on their own two feet, then we can let them go out into society and look for suitable work." 

Zhang said Cao believes study is important in teaching the young people to communicate with others because they need a wide knowledge of topics.

"So we let our volunteers teach them their knowledge. For example, if the volunteer is a photographer, he or she can teach them how to take a picture. If one likes reading, he or she can exchange a booklist with them," said Zhang. "Each of the volunteers can bring them different topics and that'll be a great help for their growth."

Zhang said the organization is hoping to set up a school for young people with autism in the future.

Minhang leads city

In a first for the city, Minhang District is putting policies in place to help people with autism.

It will promote more charity projects and foster more social groups for autistic people. 

The local education authority will step up efforts to train teachers and design classes to suit autistic children. Currently, more than 20 mainstream schools in Minhang accept autistic children.

Also, Minhang’s human resources bureau will look to create jobs that will allow parents to work with their autistic children.

This will help autistic children adapt to social life and relieve family pressures. 

And Minhang’s health authority will check and record health and family backgrounds to find out what autistic people need.