Children with autism need more care (LI FANGYU)

When Yu Huanhuan (pseudonym) was born in Yulin, Shaanxi Province four years ago, his parents were elated. He was a beautiful and chubby baby with big eyes and a head full of hair.

His first two years were marked by exceptional development. His father, Yu Gang (pseudonym), said he was quick to walk, quick to feed himself and perpetually giggly. At two-and-a-half, though, Yu Gang and his wife became worried.

Their son seemed to be sinking deeper and deeper into himself. He was uninterested in playing with other children, avoided eye contact and appeared perfectly content alone.

The couple took their son to the provincial capital Xi'an, and at Xijing University Hospital, their son was diagnosed with a disorder that they'd heard of, but knew next to nothing about: Autism. 

It's a disorder that's making headlines worldwide as its prevalence surges higher and higher, marked by communication delays, difficulties in interpersonal relationships and rigid routines and fixations coupled with an inability to cope with transitions.

"His mother was in despair," Yu said. "She thought it was the same as cancer and that maybe it couldn't be cured."

Better informed

Although despondent, the Yus are hardly alone. According to statistics published in 2012, China has about 1.64 million children with autism. However, many potential patients have yet to be identified. With the first official case of autism diagnosed in China in 1984, the first cohort of individuals with autism recognized by health officials, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, is reaching adulthood. As they do, many face limited opportunities as society struggles to accept the stigma attached to mental illness.

Guo Yanqing, a child psychiatrist at Peking University Sixth Hospital and a pioneer in autism treatment in China, recognizes that Chinese people are more aware of the disease, but people are placing the priority on early intervention rather than helping older autistic individuals fit into society.

"Very few (autistic individuals) find jobs," Guo said. "It's a real problem."

Luckily for four-year-old Yu Huanhuan, the situation for young children diagnosed with autism in China has improved drastically over the past several decades. With successful early intervention and specialized teaching techniques, children on the autism spectrum can often improve their communication and coping skills enough to live, if not a normal life, an independent one.

Empowered by Internet message boards and parent support groups that tout the importance of diagnosing early, Chinese parents are more aware of autism than ever before, and in response to the bourgeoning market, early-childhood treatment centers are sprouting up all over the Chinese mainland, from Shanghai to Xi'an, and places even more remote.