The mystery of the silk scarf gifted to the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

During her time in Vietnam (March 21-24), Mrs. Ho Ching, wife of Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was presented with a silk scarf printed with drawings of a special boy by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hien, wife of Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

That boy is Ha Dinh Chi, also known as Nem.

First Lady Nguyen Thi Hien presents a gift to baby Nem. Photo: Doan Tan/TTXVN.

Nem is an autistic boy. Sharing about her son and his autism, Ms. Nguyen Lan Phuong said: Nem was born with autism, Turner syndrome in boys, and cleft palate.

For a long time, Ms. Phuong's family was plunged into grief and despair. Nem refused to speak, refused to communicate with anyone, and spent all day just playing with a few toys she liked. Nem's crying and laughing were erratic, she avoided eye contact, couldn't imitate, banged her head against the wall, walked on tiptoes, couldn't point, and only ate certain types of food; raising her was extremely difficult… When Nem was two years old, doctors concluded that she had autism spectrum disorder since she was in her mother's womb.

During their journey of raising their child, Ms. Phuong and her husband discovered that Nem was very sensitive to colors, drawing paper, and drawing pens. Even when she was very young, whenever she saw these items, Nem would run over and excitedly draw tiny shapes on the white paper. Nem could draw all day, filling dozens of pages.

When Nem paints, everything around her ceases to exist except for the easel, paints, and brushes. Through Nem's paintings, people can gain a deeper understanding of her "little world." These paintings, with their bright and vibrant colors, are a testament to the optimistic and meaningful attitude of Nem's family towards life.

Moved by Nem's story, the wife of the Singaporean Prime Minister asked the wife of the President of Vietnam to deliver her gift to Nem and his family. The gift was a set of porcelain teacups with cute animal designs. These drawings were also created by a boy with autism in Singapore.

Receiving the meaningful gift from the First Lady of Vietnam, Mrs. Nguyen Lan Phuong, the mother of little Nem, was deeply moved and expressed her hope that Nem and autistic people in Vietnam in general will receive more attention, and that the community will become more aware of autism spectrum disorder.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hien, wife of the President of Vietnam, presents a gift from the wife of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, to Ha Dinh Chi, a child with autism. Photo: Doan Tan/TTXVN.

According to the World Health Organization, one in every 160 people has autism. There are many causes of this syndrome, including genetic factors, environmental factors, and lack of parental attention. Currently, nearly 67 million people worldwide have autism. The number of children diagnosed with autism is greater than the combined number of cases of diabetes, cancer, and AIDS. Therefore, autism is one of the three health issues for which the United Nations dedicates a day to raise public awareness – April 2nd each year.

In Vietnam, on April 2, 2016, the Vietnam Autism Network (VAN) organized the first "Vietnam Autism Awareness Day" in response to the United Nations' call, as part of the "World Autism Awareness Day" initiative. This day served as an opportunity to encourage the community to share, care for, and accept people with autism, helping them integrate into society.

Currently, people with autism still face many difficulties such as: basic intervention services and educational opportunities; a lack of mechanisms to help autistic adults find employment; and the continued misconception that autism is caused by parental neglect. According to statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, there are currently about 200,000 people with autism in Vietnam, and this number is expected to continue to increase rapidly in the future.

A silk scarf, a set of porcelain teacups—these may not be of great material value, but these gifts are filled with love. Nem's mother hopes that, through these gifts, the community will better understand people with autism, those born with disabilities but unaware of them. Let them have a normal life, be loved and accepted within the warm embrace of the community.

According to Dan Tri