Finding his voice: Zu sitting in front of a piano during a break from a practice session at the music studio in Beijing. — Reuters
BEIJING: Almost three years of pandemic restrictions have been hard for 23-year-old Chinese villager Zu Wenbao, but thanks to Beijing-based Chen’s Studio, music has become his saving grace.
Zu is one of the 14 million people in China who have autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain.
Despite laws to ensure the integration of people with autism, many in China know little about the disorder and support remains lacking, experts say.
Autism has meant Zu was unable to fit in at school or among other young people in his home village of Bei’an in Heilongjiang province.
All that changed when he started learning music free of charge at Chen’s Studio, which started lessons for people with autism just as the pandemic began.
Zu, who is non-verbal, joined the five-studio Beijing school in 2020. He has since learned to play the keyboard, and sings along with the other members of the “Star Kids” band their teacher, Chen Shensi, set up last year for people with autism.
“Without music, without these lessons, he wouldn’t have anything,” said Zu’s mother, Zhao Guorong, who travels with her son every Sunday for two hours on three different buses from their current home on the outskirts of Beijing so that he can attend class.
“The village youngsters all go to work or school, so without music and the band, he wouldn’t have any peers to socialise with,” she added.
“Even though the kids taking music classes are younger than him and half his size, they all take care of him like he’s their brother.” — Reuters
