china, employs young people with autism spectrum disorder or asd. there are an estimated 10 million plus people with asd in china. but compared to developed nations there is insufficient support for people on the spectrum for employment and overall social integration. amidst the back drop, an innovative coffee shop opened in

2018. the love coffee cafe employs young people on the spectrum who can gain real life experiences here that contribute to surprising transformation. the work inspires greatope in their parents. the cafe also conducts other unique activities, such as expanding the world of those with asd using the power of

music. children with autism spectrum disorder encounter difficulty communicating with others and can often become isolated. it's for that reason that in china they are often called children of the stars. now children on the spectrum are getting support and slowly gaining the skills to live independently. this episode follo their challenges and progress.

in this public facility, a group of volunteers offers free classes to students with asd. in china, schools have yetet too offer dedicated support for students on the autism spectrum. because off t this many childre cut short their compulsory education. a number of children here also droppeped out of school. wang he found it difficult in school and dropped out in fifth grade.

wang's f fatherr was in fact waiting just out of view. wang seems to have reached his

limits. wang's father manages to convince his son to return to class. he says his son has become much more patient than before. all he can do is watch and

support him. during recess wang went over to cao xiaoxia, the leader angel sal lone that runs these classes. cao believes that all students have the capacity to grow. cao and other staff members engage in a variety of activities to promote growth among young people with asd. the love coffee cafe is one of the activities. it's run as a training space to

improve the social skills of those with autism spectrum disorder. here children learn to respond accurately to customer's orders and most importantly to communicate withth people other thanamily membmbers. the customers are all registered volunteers withh a an understang of asd. they actively try to engage the youth there.

dai wangchen acts as the leader of the boys here. he loves to draw.

dai may appear outwardly normal. pu in the past he was totally unable to communicate with other people. dai lives with his parents and

grandparents. until he began attending the angel salon his family had all but lost hope for their only son.

dai has improved so much that he now attends a vocational school for design. but his parents remain v very concerned about his future.

every saturday cao offers music classes at the while playing musical instruments and moving in time with the melody, the children are filled with excitement. many parents see this activity and decide to enroll their children. cao initially had into awareness of asd. she grew up in the world of music with a father who was a conductor and launched shanghai's first amateur orchestrata in 2007. when she first admitted children with asd into the group, the experience changed her

first she uses music to appeal to their ears. and then to help them open up. pleased with the results she was seeing, cao resolved to support children with asdsd on a larger scale. soon she received supportrt fro volunteer work and charity funds, allowing her to open the cafe for social traraining and offer classes reinforcing school work..

neuroscientists see great potential in cao's activities.

before the cafe opened on this day, the orchestra was rehearsing in small groups for an upcoming performance. chen yanzhen, age 16 plays

trombone. chen had hardly spoken even to his parents when he e was a sma child. but when he joined some years ago he became passionate about the trombone and gradually began speaking. recently, chen has been avoiding having lunch with his mother. instead preferring to go out to eat alone. he seems so desire more independence. on this day, he chose thaiphoon.

chen's parents were startled that their son's condition improved enough for him to go out alone. at the restaurantnt chen enjoye a lavish meal with three dishes, including two with shrimp, his favorite. the lunch which cost $24 is several times more expensive than

everyone's criticisms of chen's order upset

all day, chen remained concerned about his spending at lunch. chen dropped out of school in fifth grade due to the severity of his autism. ever since, his mother q qt her jobb and began taking care of him.

wang has shone some emotional instability lately. he refused to be accccompanied his mother to work and didn't wawant thehe volunteer s staff approach him either. he ended up leaving the cafe during his shift.

startled, a volunteer followed him. no one seems able to understand what wang fortunately, he didn't get into an accident. his mother, who was watching over him from across the street ran up to him.

30 minutes later, wang's mother calmed him down and led him back to the cafe.

a joint concert is being held with the members of angel salon and the shanghai city youth orchestra. wang's parents are concerned how he may handle it. day by day the children with asd

are growing as people and as musicians. they are ready to showcase their growth to the parents and to the public. ♪

>> people with asd are called children of the stars in china due to their isolation. it's not easy for thehem to fina place where they truly belong. but in the future these activities may help them become children of a star where they are welcomed and understood by all.

♪

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