“He loves his classes” his aunt and primary caregiver, Heng Sreymom, beams as she explains how, since his arrival in the programme at Khnat Primary School, Lyhong continues to make remarkable progress. She specifically cites his “listening comprehension” and consistent application of numeracy skills in everyday life, recounting that at meal time, she can ask him, “to get plates, forks, cups, and spoons… and he can do it, and get the right quantity. He can even count up to a thousand!” 

 This may seem like a trivial matter to many, but one should keep in mind that Sreymom has witnessed the difficulties her nephew faced accessing an education and the growth he has made since. Every day, during the week, she helps get Lyhong ready for school, drops him off and picks him up, revealing that he “gets excited about going to school and is always checking the clock,” though he has trouble telling time. 

Yet the strides Lyhong has been making are real and perhaps not so long ago might have been unthinkable for those closest to him. Taking it all in, his aunt “hopes he will continue his growth and development,” and as she looks to the future, she can see her nephew, working as “a teacher, just like his parents.” 

When asked about the value of education for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), children like Lyhong, Sreymom is unabashed and there is no question concerning its relevance, asserting that “Education is so very important. When children stay at home with their parents, they don’t really learn anything. But, when they come to school, it is totally different. He has learned to communicate and express himself … Education has socialized him and he has friends in school now.” There was a time when the boy was expelled, apparently, from a different school, because he had trouble concentrating “and never played with other children.”

Continuing her train of thought, Sreymom acknowledges that her nephew is full of surprises, but perhaps the most consequential is that she feels she has learned much more from Lyhong than she has been able to teach him. He is “an innocent child who never lies” and deserving of opportunities and quality education like all other children. 

At the moment, Lyhong is an 11-year-old class 3 student who still loves both Mathematics, because he “understands it quickly” and music. In fact, he practices the drums on a daily basis and even plays for the school now!

For Samphors Vorn, Country Director for Action Education in Cambodia, “Quality education for all children is crucial and inclusive education is critical to building relationships between people and society, as we are seeing right now in the case with Lyhong.” 

*Name changed to protect the individual’s privacy