Singled out from his primary school to be taught alone in a specially designated classroom, nine-year-old Haohao, suspected of suffering attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), may probably leave the school soon.

Hao hao was taught alone in a specially designated classroom.

Jiyuqiao School in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province, intended to close the classroom after a change of headmaster.

Tucked away from the sunlight in an old community, the classroom with its walls pasted with the curriculum schedule has been a haven for the boy to receive the necessary compulsory education.

Isolated from schoolmates because of the protests from their parents, Haohao has received lessons in Chinese, mathematics and English in the separate classroom since last September. However, according to Yu Qiang, Haohao's father, there have been subtle changes in the attitude of staff assigned to teach the lone child.

"They used to be scrupulous and patient in the beginning, but now they barely finish their lessons with the arrangement of homework before leaving the room," Yu said.

Last month, school officials suggested Yu take his son to hospital for thorough treatment and promised to reserve a place for Haohao after his recovery.

The door of Haohao's classroom is opened only reluctantly since the talk and the father and son have to search for the teachers to request them to unlock the door.

According to the newly appointed headmaster of Jiyuqiao School named Tu, it was a temporary policy adopted by the former headmaster Zhu Zhengzhou that a classroom was opened only for one pupil. Now, judging from the feedback of Haohao's teachers and parents, the boy urgently needs medical treatment. Tu stressed that the school has no intention to expel Haohao and promised to readmit him when he completely recovered.

Different from the normal inaptitude of ADHD children, Haohao is competent in his school work. As a grade three student, he is capable of reading the textbooks required for pupils in grade six. His English is also good based on the recent high marks he gained in tests and the points he lost in the exams were not because he made mistakes when answering the questions but rather because he could not keep concentrating.

Despite the ADHD diagnosis from different hospitals, the vice headmaster Li Haiqiang argued that the high intelligence of Haohao implied he might not be a hyperactive child, but rather might be depressed.

The interaction between Haohao and the teachers has almost been invalidated and the achievement Haohao made in his study has nothing to do with the pedagogic methods, but rather his own aptitude, Li said.

The abrupt change of Haohao's education shocked Zhu who pitied the boy. According to him, the purpose of setting up a separate classroom for Haohao was to find a way for him to eventually return to his former class. This is an advanced pedagogic methodology adopted by many Western countries, he added.

However, he also emphasized that the methodology is only feasible with the preconditions that the teacher should be both proficient and patient in teaching ADHD children as it requires great love and magnanimity.

During Zhu's tenure in Jiyuqiao Primary School, the teachers were required to get training by experts working with ADHD children and the pupils in the school have been persuaded in meetings to show their love and tolerance to the suffering boy.

Although Haohao may disturb the class temporarily, the parents of the affected pupils still need to guide them in a positive way making it an opportunity to hone their strong wills and abilities of restraint, Zhu argued. "With such an experience, those pupils should get a higher Emotional Quotient," he added.

A survey has shown China has about 20 million children prone to ADHD.

To make them stay with others is conducive to their growth, Zhu said, adding that, "China has not yet established schools designated for ADHD children."

Haohao's father, who began to know of his son's illness when the boy was no more than two years old, sold his restaurant and accompanied his son to primary school.

"Someone said they feel sorry for our suffering, but we don't need pity, we just want to be able to send our son to school," he said.

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