Essay Statement For Ocean Heaven

Statement of Purpose

My interest in special education started with a Chinese movie I watched years ago. The movie, Ocean Heaven is based on social realities in China and talks about a desperate single father who does whatever he can to train his autistic son to be self-sufficient. The movie made me think about the struggles and stigmas people with autism and their families have to negotiate on a daily basis in China where the word autism is rarely part of the vocabulary of Chinese families.

While fictional, the movie’s tragic tale reflects a social reality in China that I hope will one day be a thing of the past. Labeled as “abnormal” or “mentally retarded，” people with autism inevitably live with social attitudes of segregation and confinement. They are deprived of the educational opportunities that able-bodied students enjoy in K-12 classrooms and beyond. Even if they are admitted to schools; rather than being an integral part of the regular classes, they tend to be grouped together as “trouble-makers” or “problematic”. Aside from issues of accessibility, the entire responsibility of taking care of autistic children is on the parents, who may or may not have the knowledge and resources to look after their children. Tragedy occurs when parents lose their capacity to take care of their children, or the current educational

The special education program is always challenging but rewarding. As an international student, I’ve overcome a lot of difficulties, but also experienced a lot of inspiring moments to spur me on to greater achievements. Working with students with disabilities, as well as learning from great professors and my mentor have really made me think of special education as a beautiful, meaningful, and worthwhile career to pursue for the rest of my