Jia said in countries with high social welfare expenditure, the government dedicates money to providing therapy for autistic children. She said in China many parents of autistic children have to give up their jobs to take care of their children, adding to their financial burden.

A survey of 177 parents of autistic children by the Chinese Journal of Special Education in 2005 indicated that their biggest worry was for their children's rights to education. According to the survey, 95 percent of parents want their children to go to kindergarten and 97 percent want special schooling of autistic children provided by the government. The results of this survey reflect China's reality for autistic children, most of whom do not receive public education. They are mostly cared for by their parents and some register for short self-support training courses with private organizations.

The Chinese Government has started to pay attention to the social problems caused by autism. In 2006, China listed autism as a handicap, entitling autism sufferers to social security for the handicapped. China also plans to set up professional autism therapy organizations in 31 large cities across China.

On November 20, 2007, China's first national-level public therapy and research center on autism, which provides verbal, psychological, hearing and senses rehabilitation for autistic children was opened. The center will also provide training for professional autism therapists and engage in exchanges with advanced autism institutions from other countries.

Multiple methods

No one really knows for sure what causes autism, but people know for sure that autism is related to nerve mutations. Heredity used to be regarded as a vital factor behind autism, yet as research on causes of autism progresses, scientists have discovered that it is not the only reason for autism. Another theory is that autism is related to atypical brain development. Some researchers have found differences between the autistic brain and the typical brain in various areas, with large-scale nerve damage. Recent studies have attributed autism to multiple factors.

Since the scientific community does not have a definite answer to the causes of autism, it has been impossible to develop a particularly effective treatment. The main rehabilitation means is to educate autistic children on social skills, such as self-support, communication skills, acceptable and appropriate social conduct and how to use public facilities.

Professor Yang Xiaoling, who has studied autism at the Institute of Mental Health of Peking University, said people still don't know the cause of autism so it is impossible to prevent it or predict it at the fetus stage. Autism can only be diagnosed from signs in the first three years of a child's life. Autistic children are not able to develop social relations, cannot develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs and display many forms of repetitive or restricted behavior.

Yang said not all autistic individuals are mentally retarded, and some have outstanding memory or imagination. They have social impairments, often lack intuition about others and can develop a preoccupation with particular objects.

Feng Yuhong, who has worked as a therapist at Tian's institute for six years, said the difference between autistic children and mentally retarded children is that the mentally retarded are unable to do what they want while autistic children refuse to do what is expected of them.

Jia said even in countries with over half a century of autism studies, such as the United States, Germany and Japan, no autistic person has recovered fully from the problem. The internationally acknowledged method of rehabilitation is to nurture self-support.

Jia said that of the more than 200 rehabilitation methods for autistic children, the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) approach has been the most recognized. Other methods include dolphin therapy and animal therapy.

Using ABA therapy, therapists teach parents on how to give clear instructions about desired behavior. In Tian's institute, Feng said classes of eight to ten children and their parents participate in sports, games and music lessons. Classes are divided according to the level of children's symptoms. Children's physical coordination ability is trained in craft classes by making mud toys, playing with jigsaws and by making paper toys. Parents' attendance is required at every class. There are courses on training children's expressions, through verbal language and body language. Therapists also train children on basic social rules. Feng said every autistic child is unique in some way, but their autism symptoms can been relieved by similar training methods.

Tian said since there is no effective medication for autism, professional therapists have tried to invent new therapies, including music therapy and picture exchange communication systems. Due to the wide differences between autistic people each parent needs to choose a therapy method that works best for their child, she added.