Six-year programme equips neurodivergent participants to lead public events

A six-year training programme in Macau has been helping neurodivergent participants develop the skills needed to organise and eventually lead public events, with organisers highlighting a steady shift toward greater independence and community collaboration.

Ada Lo, CEO of XDChannel Consultant Limited, has worked with members of the Macau IC2 Association (“I Can Too”) since 2020. Each year, she trains eight to 15 participants over roughly six weeks, amounting to about 30 hours of instruction in basic event organization and public speaking.

“One day, they won’t need my training,” Lo said on the sidelines of this year’s World Earth Day event at Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau Sunday. “That is my vision.”

The programme’s length varies by complexity. Last year, Lo extended training to three months because participants documented the entire recycling process, from plastic bottles to processing facilities in China.

“This year is a bit easier, but a different approach,” she said. “This year we go to the community, which is a high school interested in inclusion. We learn how to do events together.”

This year, IC2 participants collaborated with students from The International School of Macao (TIS), meeting every Tuesday lunchtime for six weeks. Together, they created artwork, assembled a music performance using recycled materials, and formed a choir with sign language.

The annual World Earth Day event has grown significantly. During the first year, Covid-19 restrictions capped attendance at 99 participants. The event now draws nearly 300 people annually.

Lo cites IC2 president Antonio Leong as an example of the programme’s impact. Early on, he struggled to deliver a prepared speech. Now, he speaks without a script.

“He can make his own speech himself,” Lo said.

IC2 as an association has existed for nine years. Lo’s training programme began six years ago when she started teaching participants to organize their graduation project for World Earth Day.

She hopes the school and IC2 participants will eventually run events independently. “This is why I involve so much with the high school students,” she said. “So that they can see what we do and see whether it’s sustainable.”

Meanwhile, now in its sixth consecutive year of collaboration, Rutger Verschuren, general manager of Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau, remarked, “Each year, this collaboration continues to grow in meaning and impact. What makes it truly special is not only the focus on sustainability, but the way it brings people together across different backgrounds and abilities.”

A series of interactive and inclusive activities were held on the lawn at Artyzen Grand Lapa Macau, including an Inclusion Pickleball Demonstration, where players of different abilities came together through sport, a Play Therapy Session, as well as a Tree Planting Ceremony.