Sun, May 11, 2014 page3

• Mother’s Day comes early for one group of mothers

  • By Chen Ping-hung and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
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  The mothers of 50 mentally challenged children were on Friday given an early Mother’s Day party by the First Children’s Development Center, in an attempt to bolster their spirits and keep them strong in dealing with the challenges their families face.

  According to the center, nearly 30 percent of the nation’s mothers with mentally challenged children said in a poll that they have never celebrated Mother’s Day before and one-fourth of all respondents have even quit their jobs to focus on taking care of their children.

  The poll also showed that 40 percent of these mothers suffer from anxiety because they fear they cannot handle the physical and mental stress of caring for their children, while 90 percent of the respondents worry about who will take care of their children when they grow old and infirm.

  During Friday’s gathering, where the mothers shared their personal experiences of taking care of their children, the mother of 42-year-old “Hsiaolun” (小倫) said she has never regretted the decision to keep her child and raise him.

  Hsiaolun’s mother said she was thankful for fate’s “angelic gift,” referring to her son, saying that her experience over the past four decades has taught her that parents need a more loving approach when teaching and raising their children.

  “I was very disappointed when I first learned of Hsiaolun’s condition,” she said, adding that after she adjusted her mindset, she found that her child was adorable in his own way.

  Hsiaolun’s mother said that despite the extra effort needed to raise Hsiaolun, it was worth every moment of it.

  She said they once took a bus and the driver noticed that Hsiaolun acted kind of odd and muttered that it was the price paid for an evil deed in a previous life.

  Hsiaolun’s mother said she replied to the driver’s face that her son was a gift from the heavens and he taught her how to be more loving with children.

  Meanwhile, “Hsiaoyuan” (小源), mother of two children — both slightly mentally challenged — said she had almost given up hope when she had her second child and learned that the baby was also afflicted, just like her first-born.

  It was a difficult time because both children exhibited only mild symptoms of mental retardation, which disqualified them from special education classes, the mother said.

  “While other parents were happy about their children attending school, I was worried that my children would be bullied or picked on the moment they started their education,” she said.

  “There were many times when I was at rock bottom emotionally due to frustrations or difficulties,” she said, adding the thought that kept her going was that if anything happened to her, she did not know who would be there for her children.

  The center cited data from the Ministry of the Interior showing that the number of mentally challenged Taiwanese above the age of 45 had reached almost 30,000 in 2012, which was nearly 20 percent of the total amount of people with the condition.

  The ministry has been promoting home projects for middle-aged and elderly mentally challenged people in order to provide more housing and care for these populations.

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