Children with autism can be talented

Many studies have proven that children with autism have higher IQs and often have talents. Is that true?

However, in reality, since my child was assessed as having autism, my child and I have encountered both coldness and warmth: we have often heard disheartening words, and have been looked down upon by others, although some people have extended their sympathy. Anyhow, I was not discouraged. I often took him around to attend all sorts of training courses. Various professionals have assessed my child's condition and arranged mechanical training for him, but their assessments were almost invariably negative, and they failed to provide comprehensive training.

Later, we came across Dr. Jane Nam (educational psychologist, Founder of the Positive Life Association). She took us on a path suitable for my child's growth, and I am very grateful. When my child was three years old, Dr. Jane Nam, based on the Theory of Multiple Intelligence, found that he was in fact gifted in two areas, Logical Mathematical intelligence and Visual Spatial Intelligence. Therefore, she suggested that I use three-dimension means, such as video, to enhance his learning interest, and let him perform more coordinated movements of hands and feet, such as swimming, so that his brain and all of his muscles could develop in a balanced manner.

I used Dr. Jane Nam's method to make PowerPoint to teach my child, and there was rapid improvement in his level of Chinese in four months. He was even awarded a progress award by the school. In addition, with his two years of learning to swim, his speaking and social skills have improved a lot, and his logic-mathematical skills are getting better and better.

Another thing which astonished me was that my child possesses absolute pitch, so I let him start learning piano in November 2018. Nine months later, he could already play Grade 5 pieces. His progress was truly encouraging (see attached video: my child playing the piano).

The progress of my child's learning makes me understand that I must not be discouraged by my child being negatively labelled, but should look for suitable methods to teach him, just as Dr. Jane Nam's assessment aims at discovering children's and adolescents' "potentials" and "strengths" so as to ameliorate their respective learning disabilities and improve their quality of life.

Nowadays, most children are under the pressure of fast pace of school lessons and too much homework. There is simply no room or time to develop their talents. I know that the Positive Life Association is planning to establish a school (kindergarten, primary school and secondary school) to provide quality education for students with learning disabilities, to strengthen their "potentials" and "strengths", so as to ameliorate their learning disabilities and enhance their overall learning capacity. I am keenly looking forward to the birth of such a school, so that children can have a smoother path of learning, and a niche of their own when they grow up.


Greetings from Iris