Autistic children and families need more help

China had no rehabilitation training for children until 1988. For decades autism went largely undiagnosed and the Chinese government only recognized it as a development disorder in 2006.

Statistics with China Disabled Persons' Federation show there are about 700 training institutions for autistic children in the country, 90 percent of which have been set up by parents.

The first non-government educational organization for autistic children in the country was founded by Tian Huiping, also a mother of an autistic child, in 1993 in Beijing.

Tian said she had no alternative but to set up an organization to train her son, who had been diagnosed with autism in 1989.

During the past 10 years, the Beijing Stars and Rain has helped more than 6,000 autistic children and their families through their training courses, which gives parents the skills necessary to educate their children.

However, such private rehabilitation centers or schools face difficulties in raising funds and hiring teachers.

With high treatment charges and pressures, parents are worried about their child's future when they grow up.

Jiang Wenying suffers from autism. Her mother feels guilty as she cannot find an adequate place for her daughter.

"She is too old to be admitted to some local rehabilitation centers, as they only take children under the age of six. Only an asylum is willing to accept her, but she's not a psychopath. She cannot have training courses in an asylum," she said.

Although China has made efforts to assist autistic children and their families in recent years, support is far from enough.

According to Chinese law on protecting the rights of disabled people, each autistic child aged under six receives a subsidy of 12,000 yuan ($1,900) each year. Meanwhile, the country has provided some assistance through funding and training programs for children and families.

But children above six find it difficult to get support.

Jin Hui has a 13-year-old autistic son. She said Shen Jingxiang has not enjoyed any benefits from the nation's welfare system as he was over the age of six in 2006, when the country started offering support to children with autism.

Welfare facilities sometimes cold shoulder autistic teenagers and adults while nursing homes refuse them as they are too young. The combination of misunderstanding and discrimination in society means many parents have isolated their child at home, Jin said.

"But communicating with the outside world is crucial for them, they need to integrate with society," she added.

"The Chinese government needs to establish an autism recovery training system as soon as possible, and society needs to treat autistic children and the teachers equally and fairly," said Jia Meixiang, deputy director of the Autism Committee of China Disabled Persons' Federation.

"Governments at all levels should provide more complete treatment and foster services for older autistic people, and encourage philanthropic individuals and enterprises to provide aid and jobs for autistic patients," Fu Cheng, an expert of social sciences advised.

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