Half an hour before class, art teacher Dong Fangyi starts to prepare for the day, putting out brushes and canvas with the help of his 14-year-old student Dazhi (pseudonym).
Later, the scene in the class is a little out of the ordinary, as some students are silent and concentrating while others are restless and excited, banging on their desks.
All the children in the class have been diagnosed with autism. The painting studio was founded by a public welfare service center in Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, which mainly involves parents of neurodiverse children, or those with mental difficulties, from more than 600 households.
With an operation model of mutual assistance, the parents are not attempting to rehabilitate their children, but are allowing them to develop their abilities through proper social interaction.
"Through painting, they can improve their artistic creativity and concentration while gaining some confidence," says Chen Ao, founder of the center, also the mother of a child with autism.
