Overcoming autism through art

Provided to China Daily

"There is an increasing number of rehabilitation centers providing such services," Liang says.

"They meet our needs. Among our circle (parents of autistic children), we tell each other when we learn about another good place for our children to take art classes."

When Zhang Junru, a former executive with a large company, started a non-governmental organization called Golden Wings to offer a helping hand to autistic families, she never expected the organization would develop so quickly.

Inspired by her experience as executive in large companies, in 2010, Zhang decided to run a social enterprise providing a variety of classes for autistic children.

She hires professional teachers for classes, such as drawing, dancing, singing and calligraphy, and pays them about 200 yuan ($32) to teach the class, and charges 100 yuan to students for a single class.

An annual fee of 2,000 yuan is charged for each course. Discounts are available for low-income families. If the child manages to attend 90 percent of his or her classes on time, the organization will refund the family 1,000 yuan at the end of the school year.

Zhang sells the children's paintings and products made from the paintings, such as calendars, bookmarks and postcards, in an online shop, or to companies through her personal contacts.

She also organizes charity gala dinners, and auctions the students' paintings.

After paying for the organization's operating costs and ongoing development, the money collected is redistributed among the autistic children, according to their contribution to the fundraising efforts, Zhang says.