A government-sponsored research project on savant syndrome resulted in a production of a documentary, which shows not only how Taiwanese who are blind or autistic have pursued their dreams, but also the urgency of creating a supportive environment for special people with multiple disabilities.
The documentary, Capturing Dreams in the Dark (黑暗中追夢), released yesterday was directed by Wan Ming-mei (萬明美), a special education professor at National Changhua University of Education.
Wan spent two years on the film with the assistance of her son, Lin Hwai-sheng (林懷生), the film's producer, editor and cinematographer.
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMESN
"Everyone, no matter how severely disabled, must have his or her own special talents and different ways of communication," Wan said yesterday at a preview of the film held in Taipei.
Savant syndrome is a rare condition in which people suffering from mental retardation, autism or schizophrenia nonetheless possess an unusual ability in a single field, one most often related to music, art or numbers.
Taking Lu Wen-kuei (呂文貴), 21, one of the film's subjects for example, Wan said that the totally blind and mentally retarded Paiwan Aboriginal was once socially isolated when he was nursed and cared for by a low-income family in Santimen, Pingtung County. Teachers did not recognize Lu's musical talent and perfect pitch until he first touched a piano at age 12, when he played all the songs he had ever heard with no difficulty.
Later, teachers found that Lu could play many kinds of musical instruments and use them to play whatever he had ever heard, even though he could not even solve the simplest arithmetic problems, such as three plus five.
In the film, Lin Wei-chih (
In the first seven years in his life, he was misunderstood as a mute. Now, only using the sense of hearing, Lin can easily recognize types of trains passing by.
"I wish I could see a train timetable, buy tickets, and go up and down stairs at train stations," Lin, a railroad enthusiast, said in the film.
Chuan Fu-hua (莊馥華), 21, has suffered from visual impairment, paraplegia and communication disorder since she got hurt in a fire at the age of 10.
By using a special tool for typing and wagging her head to express her thought in phonetic symbols and Morse code, Chuan has written more than 200 poems. Some of her pieces have been published in mainstream newspapers and magazines. Her persistence won her the Presidents' Award of Education in 2004.
However, Taiwan's existing educational system cannot offer her an opportunity to go to college.
At the preview yesterday, three subjects smiled and laughed when they were introduced to viewers, many of whom shed tears after being touched by the persistence of the three young people's hearts.
Hsiao Yeh (
"In the film, Wen-kuei said three plus five equals to ten. It's possible. Life is not like mathematics. The documentary can even inspire normal children, who also suffer setbacks in daily life," Hsiao Yeh said.
Wan said that all proceeds earned by the program will be donated to the private Huei-ming School and Home for Blind Children. Currently, the DVD is available by ordering through the school.
"So far, we have not planned to have the film shown in public. But we hope people know that special ways of communication for many other kids are just waiting to be discovered," Chen Li-yu (
Officials of both the National Science Council and the Ministry of Education said that more investment has to be made, not only to encourage related research but also "to create friendly environment in society."
"Today kids like this rely on families more than the society. Parents devote themselves. If I were in their shoes, I'm not sure I could've done better," Deputy Minister of the National Science Council Shieh Ching-jyh (
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
RSS