Beijing -- Japan
donated $80,840 to help treat
Shanghai's autistic children, those
who have difficulties communicating,
interacting and often cannot respond
to affection - a serious problem in
a highly verbal society such as
China.
Shanghai has at least 10,000 known
autistic children, mostly living in
their own worlds, out of touch with
reality and given to repetitive
behaviors.
The Shanghai Charity Foundation
received the donation from Consulate
General of Japan yesterday.
It is the first local institution
for treating children with autism.
Funds will purchase more sports
facilities and fix utilities for the
school, according to Jiang Limin,
director of the Shanghai Sincerity
Children Convalescent's Kindergarten
Among the 1.8 million children known
to be suffering from autism in
China, over 10,000 of them are in
Shanghai, based on the Sincerity
Kindergarten. However, the
Sincerity facility was only founded
in 2003.Currently 20 professional
therapists are helping about 35
children there under age of seven.
"There is always a line-up on our
enrollment list," said He Xiaoyun,
the facility supervisor. "Expanded
facilities will hopefully let us
have more professionals and look
after more autistic children in our
institution.
"The kindergarten so far has treated
160 children with autism, and 30
percent of them have been able to
enter elementary schools. Ye
Lan, a teacher, said that autism is
a lifelong but non-progressive
disability, and a cure has not been
found. Jiang, the director of the
school, also a mother of an
11-year-old autistic boy, says early
treatment makes a difference.
(Source: Shanghai Daily News)