An exhibition of paintings by autistic（患自闭症的）students was held in Futian District on April4th, the 16th World Autism Awareness Day. The works on the exhibition were created by students from the Shenzhen Employment Assistance Base for Autistic Spectrum Disorders.
The founder of the base, Su Ting, who is also an art teacher, said that the exhibition aimed to raise the autistic students' awareness so that they can create value and achieve their dreams. Painting is not just a skill but a key to open their minds and improve their quality of life.
Zhong Jiayu, one of the students, joined the base 10 years ago and focused on watching and drawing fish for hours each day. Zhong's mother tried to force her to change, but Su discovered her talent and helped her in drawing fish. "At the beginning, we provided her with different types of fish and let her watch the differences, which made her drawing skills better in such a relaxing environment. " Su said.
After a year, Zhong stopped drawing fish and started to draw things she saw, and her style became clean, clear, and simple. On the exhibition, Zhong created a few excellent pictures.
So far, the base has helped over 60 autistic students develop skills and talents for employment. The base also opened a charity shop a year ago to sell the works created by the students, with the income（收入）used for the creation and arts lessons for the students. Su said that if the students can find a job, they will be happy for them. If they cannot, they can help them through the base.
