Ji Siniu poses with her students at the Nujiang Special Education School following their performance at a celebration.

For someone who had no clue about special education, Ji Siniu is now a veteran in the profession who has helped train deaf-and-mute students and integrate them into the mainstream society in Nujiang Lisu autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province.

More than 50 students have passed through her hands to find jobs or run their own businesses. "Whenever my students find a job and become part of society, I feel on top of the world. That is the ultimate purpose of all teachers here," says Ji, 45.

Located in the Liuku township in Lushui county, the Nujiang Special Education School was founded in 1994 for mentally challenged children and those with listening and speaking difficulties, says Ji, now deputy principal of the school.

Ji knew nothing about teaching children with learning difficulties when she was transferred to the Nujiang Special Education School in 1997 from a primary school nearby.

"I didn't know about special education before entering the school. It was a mystery to me and some colleagues," says Ji.

"I still remember the shabby houses of loess bricks and wooden ceilings temporarily borrowed from the army. The rain would easily pierce through the roof and we had to prepare a dozen quilts to resist the chilly wind in winter."

Outside the old house, a dirt road and a soccer field were the only places the children could have their extracurricular activities, she says.

For two years, she spent days and nights learning sign language and passed the national exam, which takes most people at least three and a half years to learn.

In the 1990s, it was not compulsory for children in Nujiang to go to school, Ji says.

In some families, mothers kept giving birth to more children in the hope of having a "perfect baby" if the older ones had some physical flaws, says Ji. "It's sad for such families as they might end up with more than one child who is physically or mentally challenged," she says.

"Unfortunately, this group of kids have been overlooked and some mute kids don't have a name but are called yaba (meaning mute in Chinese)," says Ji.

It is common for parents to stop teachers from taking their children to school, even though no school fees are required, Ji adds.