OPPORTUNITIES FOR AUTISTIC PEOPLE IN VIETNAM

Picking vegetables, cooking, sweeping the floor, etc... are easy tasks for each of us, but for autistic people, it is something they have never thought of doing but now they can confidently do it.

Life skills - the "door" towards becoming normal

Our Story Community Development Center (Source: The center's Facebook post)

First to mention is Our Story Community Development Center, a vocational training center for children with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, helping children with this disease integrate into ordinary life. through learning the simplest things.

To be able to integrate into the community, the first thing autistic people need is basic skills such as self-care, cooking, housework, shopping, walking, how to eat, how to going to the toilet, how to communicate with people, etc... because a huge problem these people face is the ability to be independent.

For that reason, Our Story Community Development Center was established to help people with autism live like normal people. In addition, the children here also learn English like their peers. What's more special, here the children will learn a number of occupations so that they can make a living in the future such as handmade crafts (making bows, hairpins, making flowers, making recycled fabric bags...), and money after selling them. These products will be used by the center to pay your salaries, and you will have products sold to consumers.

Autism people prepared for the lunch meal (Source: Evo News reporters)

To say that before coming to this place, the children were just children full of defects, but after accompanying the center, they were able to do things like normal people, even going to the market to buy things.

Autistic people make handmade crafts (Source: The center's Facebook post)

It can be said that this center has created a lot of conditions for children with autism, teaching them from the simplest things to be able to take care of themselves and teaching them some skills. able to feed them, and now those children no longer have to rely on their relatives for daily activities.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu, founder of Our Story Community Development Center stated: "This center will be a place for you to study, develop yourself as well as become a place to help you earn more income for yourself".

The values she aims for are so that children with special circumstances can live and function like normal people, not only taking care of themselves but also taking care of those around them.

"Fishing rod, fish, and bait" - the door to financial independence

There is another economic model that helps children in similar circumstances access society and be able to support themselves, which is a business model called ' happiness' of autistic people. This is the first economic model project for autistic people in Vietnam (VAPs), including supermarkets, restaurants and bookstores, and has been persistently implemented by Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung, the founder, for the past 8 years. The project's staff - autistic people - although lacking in communication, language and social skills, are very professional and thoughtful, always creating great sympathy with customers.

The staffs of VAPs and reporters

Sharing with reporters, Mr. Nguyen Duc Trung, the founder and implementer of the Economic Model for Autistic Individuals in Vietnam, believes: Besides providing vocational training and imparting professional skills and material values to autistic individuals, there is something even more special: providing them with fishing bait, meaning providing them with an environment and love so they can freely "fish", and his model is precisely such a place. Always helping, training, understanding, and loving autistic individuals, helping them to be able to take care of themselves wherever they go, not only in terms of daily survival skills but also in self-sustenance. No matter what he gives to them, Mr. Trung always dedicates himself wholeheartedly, enthusiastically assisting autistic individuals, offering them a "door" towards a normal life, and they are fortunate to live and work like ordinary people. 

An autistic staff of VAPs sells the products in the supermarket (Source: Vietnam's Autism Projects page)

Nguyen Duc Trung and his staffs (The character stands on the far right)

In addition to the two centers and models mentioned above, there are also individuals who open up opportunities for young people with this condition to have a place for development, to express their artistic talents, and to get closer to the art of drawing, providing them with space to develop themselves to the fullest. One such place is Megan Arts by artist Luong Giang. Autistic students who come to her are taught in a separate space with a unique curriculum. According to Giang, autistic individuals are considered VIPs (very important people) because most of them struggle with language, behavior control, and tend to isolate themselves in their own world. They need teachers who are knowledgeable and patient to accompany them on a long journey.

Artist Luong Giang (Source: The Page of Megan Art)

People with autism face difficulties, especially in social integration, but to assist them, many centers and models are established to help them become normal like everyone else, bridging the gap between neurotypical and autistic individuals. Thanks to such places, autistic individuals can confidently step out, navigate in the vast world outside.

Opportunities for Autistic People in Vietnam (Source: evo news)

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by poor social interaction and communication skills, uneven intellectual development, and even slow development. People with autism often have problems developing social communication skills, have an expressionless face, and an unnatural body posture. Depending on the severity of autism and the timing of intervention, different treatment methods can be applied. The goal of treating autism is to maximize independence and reduce behaviors that may limit skills.

evo news - Group 7

Which service from these "special staffs" do you want to experience the most ?

• Make handicraft stuffs (recycled bag, hair clips ,...)
• Try a cup of phin filter drip coffee
• Hype and sing with staffs