Sunny Chan and Family Promote Autism Awareness

When Sunny Chan’s (陳錦鴻) son, Edgar Chan (陳駕樺) was diagnosed with mild autism 3 years ago, Sunny took a year-long hiatus from work to fully care for Edgar. The doting father did not avoid talking about his son’s condition, and Sunny is often happy to discuss about his son’s challenges and achievements. Recently, Sunny and his family also appeared in a campaign to increase the public’s understanding  to help autistic children.

Sunny and his wife Ada To’s (杜雯惠) decision to promote autism awareness with the Heep Hong Society was driven by their desire to help other struggling families. Ada said in a Weibo message, “Will Edgar feel awkward when he sees these posters when he grows up? The posters’ target audience are precisely those who will ask us this question. The Hong Kong public is not familiar with autism, and parents with autistic children often feel helpless and frustrated. If we really understand the condition, we can see that with a little more love and patience, as well as care and guidance, these children will grow up happily. Parents, let’s work hard together!” Her comment gained many likes, including from celebrities such as Sammi Cheng (鄭秀文), Anita Yuen (袁詠儀), Christine Ng (伍詠薇) and Sharon Chan (陳敏之).

With his parents’ loving care, Edgar’s speech has improved tremendously and he has turned from an antisocial boy to one who interacts well with his parents. In September this year, Edgar will also join the rest of his peers in a mainstream primary school. As a result, Sunny is also able to shift his attention back to work.

Currently in Suzhou to film an upcoming Chinese drama, Sunny said in a telephone interview, “Heep Hong Society has been very supportive to my family over these years. Their present advertisement is also meaningful because it calls out to the fathers to be more proactive in their children’s lives.” Like his wife, Sunny is not afraid of Edgar being labeled as ‘different’. Sunny stressed that public awareness will help them in overcoming such stigma, similar to how patients with mental problems are no longer ostracized.

Dedicated 3 years with Edgar to help him overcome communication barriers, Sunny is happy to see that Edgar has turned from a quiet boy to one who is more vocal. Not only can Edgar recite Chinese classics, the most important thing to Sunny is seeing how his son could use words to communicate better.

Heep Hong Society hopes to use Sunny’s positive attitude to convey the message to parents that acknowledging the situation is the first step to helping their children live a normal and fulfilling life.

Source: ihktv.com

This article is written by Karen for JayneStars.com.