Sorry, the articles from last night and the night before are no longer accessible. One was saved by myself, the other by someone else. I won't discuss the reason; it's unavoidable when writing for a public account. In the future, please save any content you find valuable offline. Online bookmarks may become inaccessible after a while. I even hope the public account platform will introduce a function to automatically fold articles older than a week. Older content doesn't get many genuine readers, but it causes a lot of trouble.Today is May Day, and it's kind of funny, but I spent almost half the day on the bus. It all started because my younger brother kept saying he wanted to ride a double-decker bus, which he'd never done before, and my grandparents promised to take him on one today since it was their day off.We set off at 9 a.m., and by 11:30 a.m., my grandparents and grandchildren returned home looking dejected. I asked around and found out they hadn't made it; the bus line near our house that used double-decker buses had stopped operating because of high fuel consumption and low profitability, and the double-decker buses had been replaced by electric buses. My younger brother, unwilling to give up, waited for a full two and a half hours, only returning home when he was starving. As soon as he got home, he sat on a cushion and started crying.I felt sorry for him, so I promised to take him on a double-decker bus after his afternoon nap. I called 96166 to inquire, and the operator listened to my request, pondered for a while, and said that she wasn't sure about other routes, but there were definitely double-decker buses on the 4th Ring Road.So at 2 PM, we took a taxi to the 4th Ring Road and successfully fulfilled my brother's wish, getting him on a double-decker bus. The child was very excited and rode for three hours round trip before finally returning home satisfied.Watching my younger brother exclaim in delight, I couldn't help but think how easily children find joy, because their exploration of the world is full of novelty. As adults, however, joy gradually becomes scarce, our senses towards the world become numb, and that kind of heartfelt pleasure becomes increasingly unfamiliar.For example, the last time I felt ecstatic was many, many years ago.…I've been feeling quite uneasy about something these past few days.It all started when I came across a child on a short video platform who seemed a bit abnormal. At first, I thought he had an intellectual disability, but later I learned that he was a child on the autism spectrum, which means he had moderate to severe autism.He seems to understand communication, but he often has mental lapses. Several times you think you've caught up with his thinking, but then he suddenly breaks down in words and actions, reminding you that he's not normal. This half-mad, half-right state makes even me, a passerby, feel uncomfortable, let alone his parents who have lived with him for over a decade.After watching a few videos, the algorithm knew I was interested in this type of information, so it recommended several bloggers to me, prompting me to learn about this niche group and their world.First, the proportion of children with autism is higher than I imagined. Official data in China shows 0.7%, roughly one in every 140 children. Of this 0.7%, nearly half have normal intelligence, but lack empathy and appear awkward in social situations; however, they are capable of self-care. The other half, with more severe cases, have intellectual disabilities and require active rehabilitation intervention; otherwise, they will be a ticking time bomb in adulthood.So, if you divide 0.7% by 2, your probability of making a mistake is 0.35%.Some people may think that 0.35% is not very high, only 3.5 out of 1000 children, but the problem is that if you get involved with this not-so-high probability, it will be a huge pain and disaster.Doctors will tell you that active treatment and intervention are needed before the age of 7, which is very expensive, costing 200,000 to 300,000 yuan per year, and more than 1 million yuan can be spent before the child starts primary school. In some smaller towns, there are no particularly good institutions, so treatment has to be carried out in big cities. As a result, one of the parents will have to take care of the child full-time, reducing their income by half.Even if you achieve all this, your child will only be close to being a normal child. They will usually struggle to keep up in elementary school, be at the bottom of their class, and be prone to various problems. At this stage, many parents gradually adjust their expectations, realizing that their child, let alone becoming successful, will be lucky if they can even take care of themselves after their parents pass away.I watched a father of an autistic child recount his journey over the past 10 years: seeking medical treatment everywhere, living a life of hardship and displacement, accumulating debt, and suffering repeated setbacks. It felt like the whole family had been dragged into an abyss, and it sent chills down my spine.I shared what I had seen with my wife, thanking her for giving birth to two healthy children. In this respect, the children being a little naughty and a little lazy is not a big deal. In our daily conversations, we often say that we are depressed or autistic, as a form of self-deprecation. But in fact, when depression and autism truly rise to the level of a disease, their destructive power is terrifying.Then I thought about my readership; proportionally, there are several thousand families like them. I felt very sorry for them and wanted to do something for them, but I couldn't figure out what I could do. Perhaps each of us needs to understand this situation first, because only by understanding it can we truly empathize with them.…Finally, I'd like to say that the "Travel with Parents" activity has ended. Last time, some readers gave feedback that they didn't want to see the photos and text that took up space, so I thought about it and made all the materials into a video. That way, those who want to watch it can watch it, and those who don't can skip it.
We randomly selected 20 netizens, and 19 of them actually went. One person gave up, and sincerely explained why: they came from a poor family in a rural mountain area, and their parents, who were over 60, were still working in factories in other cities. They were worried that taking time off to travel would cost them their jobs. After I found out, I adjusted the plan, suggesting that they buy gifts for their parents and get reimbursed for the expenses with the receipts.To be honest, I was quite shocked. I always thought that my followers were mainly middle-class elites from first- and second-tier cities, but I didn't expect the range to be so wide.Regardless, the event was a success, and we gained valuable experience that we can improve and scale up next time. The money was well spent, and we expect a similar themed event soon.That's all. Happy holidays everyone.
