The China Children and Teenagers' Fund (CCTF) recently held a series of interactive activities for children with autism at the Duoyunxuan Art Center in East China's Shanghai Municipality in collaboration with Chang'e Lunar Spaceflight Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd, Shanghai Charity Foundation's representative office in Minhang District, and Minhang Tongxing Care Service Center to mark the arrival of the 17th World Autism Awareness Day, which falls on April 2. 

Under the theme of "Cosmos Light," the thematic event aimed to make the voice of autistic children heard and promote the communication of relevant families through paintings, artwork exhibition and soul-healing workshop. 

It drew the attendance of over 40 families with autistic children and volunteer families. Attending children sat down in a circle and drew pictures of the world in their eyes, convey personal aspiration for happiness, and show great thanks to their parents and those who have given a helping hand to them.

During the gathering, an autistic boy became familiar with a middle school student because of their common interest in artistic creation. They jointly completed a painting titled "My Sky" and exhibited it along with over 80 artworks done by other participants. 

"The stories of families with autistic children should be known and respected. My child has become basically capable of taking care of himself and engaging in simple communication with other kids," said a mother of an autistic child. She added that she is deeply grateful to people from all social sectors for their caring and support toward autistic children.

Zhang Rui, an expert with Minhang Tongxing Care Service Center, said that the event exhibited paintings of autistic children and their normal peers to support and promote the philosophy of community integration. She went on to say that the best social support to people with autism is to regard them as normal ones, provide them with assistance in personal life, study and work, and build a friendly and inclusive social environment for them.  

In the next step, the CCTF will continuously pay attention to the actual demand of children with autism and their families, gather the support of more enterprises and professional social organizations, promote the building of an assistance system for autistic people, in which the government takes a leading role, governmental departments coordinate their efforts, enterprises show their support, families, schools and the society fulfill their responsibilities, the entire society gets involved, and bring more strength as well as support to those children and their families.