The World of Lun

Things often go against wishes. Lun was confirmed to have autism.

 

November 29, 1990 was the most difficult day for us, as the parents of Lun. The pediatric psychiatrists of Sunny Hill Hospital clearly told us that Lun suffered from childhood autism. This was the most horrifying news for us because I knew what autism was.

 

I worked as a social worker in Hong Kong before immigration and had encountered children with autism. They were very special and hard for outsiders to understand.

 

In university, we were taught what autism was by a teacher who showed us an impressive film. Sitting on the floor inside a room with dim light, a very young boy did not communicate with others. He rocked back and forth repeatedly. He ignored parents’ calls and avoided eye contact. He was only interested in spinning objects, spoke seldom, but could suddenly scream in great fear.

 

There is still no answer to the cause of this disease and no medicine can prevent autism. Treatment relies solely on education and training to strengthen their life skills. 

 

Most special needs children were born with obvious disabilities, either physical or intellectual. Care could be delivered easier with visible comprehension of their deficiencies.

 

Autistic children can be hard to comprehend. They may have high IQs and be excel in some areas, yet all have difficulties in socialization. 

 

When I looked back from birth to the diagnosis, Lun was somewhat different from other children. However since he was our first born, very little comparison could be made. Except for the lack of language, he appeared to be quite normal as we desired.

 

Lun started calling us mom and pa at seven months old, but the calling stopped. Seldom did he point to the things he wanted. Instead, the gesture of salute was made with his whole hand pointing straight to the item. Once I was holding Lun, aged 2, in my hands in a group gathering of a winter retreat camp. The participants clapped to celebrate an announcement. Startled and irritated by the noises, Lun screamed and squeezed my face with both hands.

 

He always had a good appetite. After landing in Canada before age two, he was fed on the local homo-milk (3.5% milk fat), twenty-four ounces per day, and resulted in obvious weight gain with features like wrestler. Then in just one day six months later, he threw the bottle away after drinking three ounces. Since then, not a drop of milk was taken by him. In the following months, he quitted fruits. vegetables, dried fruits and changed into a very picky eater. Still he didn't speak. 

 

He was sent to a daycare centre which later referred him to the community nursing team believing that Lun might have some issues. After initial assessment, he was referred to Sunny Hill Children Hospital for more thorough assessment. The whole process took more than a year.

 

During this period, we slowly accepted that Lun might have some issues with learning which we wished were minor. The most unwanted label was autism because I had no clue on how to handle it.

 

Lives do not lack things going against people's wishes.

 

Lun has autism