When Ah Sheng was a child, a fever left him with multiple disabilities, making speech and walking difficult and requiring significant care. He has been placed at the Tainan Training Center for the Disabled under the Ministry of Health and Welfare for 26 years. His 86-year-old father, Mr. Lin, picks him up to celebrate holidays such as Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, and his birthday. Over the past two days, the Tainan Training Center organized a parent-child outing to the Xitou Educational Area. The center prepared assistive devices to ensure both father and son could enjoy quality family time.
The parent-child outing included 252 participants—residents, their families, and staff—a sizable group. The average age of the residents was over 50, with the oldest being 74, while the average age of family members exceeded 60, making it a unique “centenarian group.” To accommodate everyone’s needs, the center put in considerable effort, conducting prior site inspections and arranging large accessible shuttle buses for the journey.
In addition to organizing parenting education sessions, service reports, panel discussions, and parent-teacher meetings to help families better understand the center’s operations and care services, the highlight was the parent-child trip. Everyone enjoyed a walk in the forest, breathing in the forest’s phytoncides, and visited the famous Monster Village. The atmosphere was warm and heartwarming.
Director Chang Chiong-yueh stated that the Tainan Training Center has been organizing parent-child activities for 15 years. The initiative began out of concern for families with children who have physical or mental disabilities, many of whom fear judgment from society and hesitate to take their children out. Through group support, parents can find mutual understanding, no longer feeling different from others, and can relax and enjoy genuine parent-child and sibling relationships.
(China Times)