Snail does not give up

Author: Zhang Yan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: God thought the world was too noisy, so he created snails. God thought the world was too rushed, so he created snails. God thought the world lacked love, so he created snails. Yes, he is a small, slow snail. What seems easy to you is like climbing to the heavens to him. But he is climbing, whether you can see it or not, whether the grapes are still on the vine, he keeps climbing. No matter how difficult, he has never given up. A panoramic documentary work by the domestic department, focusing on the group of families with children with autism. "When you are about to have a child, you wholeheartedly prepare for your dream journey, just like planning a wonderful Italian trip. But after the long journey, the plane stops, and the flight attendant tells you: Welcome to the Netherlands!" — Those children born with abnormalities have taken their parents into strange adventures. The Snail Never Gives Up revolves around the various experiences of families with children with autism in China, including medical treatment, education, emotional struggles, and social acceptance. It primarily tells the stories of seven families with autistic patients, including the author's own family, involving more than thirty interviewees from over ten families. The author avoids a tragic and sorrowful confessional tone, instead using a delicate and gentle touch to describe the interactions and connections between children and parents, families, and society. This nearly 120,000-word book features all illustrations created by the autistic children, and the title is written by the author's son—a seven-year-old autistic boy. These children are neither geniuses nor "useless people"; they are snail-like treasures striving to grow in adversity. A foreign study shows that the stress of parents of autistic children is the highest among all parents of children with disabilities. In this book, there are tragic family stories such as divorce and father-son suicide, as well as the ordinary people's perseverance in love and responsibility. Autism has only been diagnosed in China for 20 years. As a brain abnormality with an unknown cause, autism's treatment and education have posed new demands and challenges to the existing medical, educational, and research systems. Children are trapped in the gaps of the system. Over these 20 years, parents, doctors, and teachers have struggled together for the recovery of the children. Their efforts have become a significant driving force for the booming research and education in this field. In these seemingly insignificant individual cases, this group is "seeking justice with private motives." Their efforts, as a call for social civilization and fairness, are gaining increasing resonance. How does a child who cannot speak learn to take the bus home alone? How does a shy and self-isolated child fall in love with painting class? This book does not systematically introduce the rehabilitation methods for autism but depicts, through small stories, how parents teach their children the necessary life and social skills in daily life. It is believed that those interested in autism education for children will find value in it, and these educational principles can be fully applied to the general education of children. One of the motivations that prompted the author to write this book is her desire to know, "What will happen to my child after I die?" At the end of the book, she says, "Overall, a child's fate depends on the progress of Chinese society's civilization and advancement in the coming decades; from an individual perspective, it depends on whether every parent has done their utmost for their child and for themselves. We must strive to push forward every small improvement, not missing any opportunity." She says, "With our boundless love for each other, we may ultimately find redemption."