The world of Tzu Chi (Vol.108)

soup, finally uttered his first meaningful word: “soup”. The whole family cheered for him. After two years of intensive ABA treatment, Hao Zhe managed to sit through a class without causing a disaster. At age 4, he was finally accepted into a kindergarten! However, he was still hot- tempered and occasionally, I would receive complaints of him biting other children in his class. At age 6, he started to adopt Sara’s Diet, and his temper became much milder, reducing his hyper-activeness. Primary schooling for Hao Zhe – paved with sincerity and love In 2003, 7-year-old Hao Zhe entered primary school. There were about 50 students in each class. Could he survive seven to eight hours each day at school, lacking in communication skills, unable to understand others, and having many behaviours that differed from social norms? The people who could offer him a hand were his teachers and schoolmates. So, acting as Hao Zhe’s public relations officer, I took the initiative to establish good relationships with his teachers and classmates. I visited the teachers monthly to explain Hao Zhe’s situation, hoping that they would understand him better and master the method of teaching him. This action had aroused from the questions his class teacher asked at the start of Primary 1: “Why is he eating the eraser? Why did he eat the glue? Why can’t he pay attention in class?” His Malay language teacher in Primary 1 was worried the first time I visited her. She asked, “Did you come to see me because I caned him yesterday?” I immediately bowed to her and thanked her for educating Hao Zhe. I told her I was not there to complain about her, but to thank her. I explained that Hao Zhe had learning difficulties. Upon understanding his situation, the teacher became more tolerant, understanding and patient in educating him. The teachers also noticed that Hao Zhe did not know how to take exams. For example, upon noticing that he only answered the first question and not the second, a teacher reminded him to answer the second question. But, when the test paper was collected, the teacher found out that he did indeed answer the second question, but he also erased his answer for question one. From then on, the teachers would ask Hao Zhe to sit next to them during exams, so that they were able to monitor and instruct him to answer all the questions. Every month when I visited the teachers, his classmates would call out, “Hao Zhe’s mummy is here!” His classmates took care of him well. I am especially grateful to the first Senior Assistant, Ms Zheng, for arranging Hao Zhe to be placed under caring and patient teachers every year. As a show of gratitude, I made sure I brought back some gifts for his teachers and classmates from every business trip I made. Secondary school for Hao Zhe – misery of a disadvantaged child Hao Zhe studied happily and peacefully in his six years of primary school. However, things were different in secondary school. In his first week of secondary school, someone ate his lunch and his pocket money was also taken away. Every month or so, I would receive calls from the school informing me that Hao Zhe was being bullied again. During the extra-curricular activities, he was besieged by a group of students; or, he was made fun of by his classmates, pushing him onto the stage during weekly assembly and forcing him to sing using an empty bottle as a microphone. Unable to defend himself, Hao Zhe suffered mentally and physically. 2019 • 03 58 nspiration