Lifelong support for autism

State, community and family all integral to task of care, integration, experts say

Autistic children tend to receive much attention and assistance from society, but the families behind them are forced to carry their own burdens.

Xiao Yun, mother of a 12-year-old daughter with autism and a 10-year-old son in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan province, said she felt like she was falling from a deep cliff when the doctor told her that her daughter had autism. At that time, her daughter, named Bingbing, was 2 and her son was a newborn.

Countless trivial things in life made her feel helpless. Bingbing was unable to function in many aspects and often lost control of her temper.

The woman's main source of pain, however, was the fact that her daughter was incapable of communicating with her — she gave no hugs and never called her mom, which broke the woman's heart.

In the course of taking care of Bingbing, Xiao Yun quit her job and lost contact with her friends.

"I felt like they could not understand me. We had nothing in common and I was also afraid someone would go gossiping," the mother recalled.