As of 2015, the incidence of autism in China was rising, with more than 10 million people suffering from autism, including more than 2 million children, according to Zhang Yanhua, deputy secretary-general of the China Disabled Persons Welfare Foundation.
Although the number of autism groups is huge, unfortunately, there is a lack of attention to autism in China. Many people have a misunderstanding of autism, thinking that "maybe the child will get better when he or she grows up"; "maybe grandparents have been bringing up the child for a long time and we have spent too little time with him or her, resulting in autism, and as long as we spend more time with him or her, it will be fine."
What is more important to note is the difficulty of rehabilitation of autistic patients and the lack of professionals in autism diagnosis and rehabilitation intervention. There is no specialization in autism rehabilitation intervention in the domestic education system, and most practitioners receive training only after joining the profession. Moreover, there are many difficulties in enrolling autistic children in school and in integrated education, and there is a lack of rehabilitation training and teachers, as well as many gaps in the field of autism rehabilitation.
Autism, also known as autistic disorder, is a representative disorder of the pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) category, that occurs in early childhood. The basic clinical features of autism are the triad of social interaction disorder, impaired speech development, narrow range of interests, and stereotypical, homogeneous behavior, with onset mainly before 3 years of age.
- Translated by Wylie Sun
