SHANGHAI -- A Chinese mother recently published a book about her intellectually disabled son, hoping to share her experiences and stories with parents in the same situation around the world.

Jamaica's 100m world record holder Asafa Powell (R) presents an autographed poster to special athlete Xu Chuang (C) and his mother, September 27, 2007. Xu's mother Bao Meiqin recently published a book about her intellectually disabled son, hoping to share her experiences with parents in the same situation around the world.[Xinhua]

Bao Meiqin, mother of the Special Olympics athlete Xu Chuang and a doctor working in a Shanghai kindergarten, spent a whole year on writing the book titled "Xu Chuang Venturing into the World", which was published in September.

"The world is big, and there are a lot of intellectually disabled children just like my son and lots of mothers like me. If I do what I can to help change the destiny of such children, if my effort can bring warmth to mothers like me, I would be more than contented," she said through telephone on Tuesday.

The personal family story, with about 100,000 Chinese characters, traces the path of Xu Chuang through his experiences with the Special Olympics and describes the 20-year-old's rise as a Special Olympics Global Messenger.

"People think I am a great hero, but actually I am so grateful to the Special Olympics and the whole society which give him the unique chance to change, and I am proud of my son," the mother said.

Timothy Shriver, Chairman of the Special Olympics International, was also impressed by her efforts to spread the spirit of Special Olympics to other families.

"Ms Bao is a hero, to Xu Chuang, to her family, to her community, to Special Olympics and to me," Shriver says in the book's preface.

"Through her stories and her involvement she is removing the sense that society is against her and other Special Olympics families and people with intellectual disabilities."