“Daddy, I love you,” said four-year-old Yaoyao, who finally was able to speak after one-on-one tutoring. He was diagnosed with cheilopalatognathus (cleft lip and palate) at birth.

Du Xintong, a young language trainer in Shanghai, successfully helps kids like Yaoyao to speak.

There are over 100 million people in China suffering from language disorders. Except for cheilopalatognathus, language disabilities result from many other causes like growth retardation, stuttering, voice problems, hearing impairment, autism, and cerebral palsy. People who help treat the language disabled population are called language trainers, a lesser-known profession.

According to Du, in the US, there are 190,000 languages trainers (part-time and full-time, amateur and professional, all counted), while the number in China is only around 10,000. In such tough circumstances, Du sticks to doing what she wants to do.

As a startup business owner, Du runs a training agency for children with language disabilities. In her twenties, she also makes videos sharing how to help kids with such problems.