Xinhua Insight: Misunderstanding autism in China

While other kids on stage were reciting lines of a poem, Qiuyu refused to say anything. Finally, he said, "My world blooms," which was indeed the last line and the kids walked off the stage to thunderous applause.

The poem may have been finished, but Qiuyu's father's job was far from over. Later, he accompanied Qiuyu's twin brother, Qiuge, onto the stage to perform a dance. The steps were very simple, and other kids were all alone: Mr Chen was the only adult in sight. He squatted behind Qiuge and help him move with the rhythm.

Qiuge and Qiuyu, 12 years old, are autistic twins. Wednesday's performance on the eve of the eighth World Autism Awareness Day was sponsored by the Soong Ching Ling Foundation.

Autistic children have difficulty communicating and interacting with others, and they often fail to recognize or understand others' emotions and feelings

JUST DIFFERENT

Fiddling with an iPad, Qiuge and Qiuyu laugh happily, like any other kids.

The twins were confirmed as autistic at two years old. They could not talk and made little eye contact. Although they were twins, they seldom played together.

Mr Chen and his wife were shocked at the diagnosis. The entire family was mobilized. Two of the boys' aunts came to help the family care the twins. After the diagnosis, Chen felt helpless. He repeated "I am your papa" thousands of times to his sons and they finally responded when they were three years old.

Xuan Xuan, 12, performed a song at Wednesday's show with her teacher, but did not stop singing even when the anchorman on the stage was trying to talk to her.

As the organizer of the show, Xuan Xuan's mother was a little angry and asked staff to turn off her daughter's microphone. "She cannot control herself very well," said her mother, Du Jiamei, a university English teacher and founder of Beijing Xingxiwang Autism Rehabilitation Center.

Xuan Xuan was diagnosed in 2004 during a community screening. Du then began to study the best available autism therapy: Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) from the University of California.

At first, Du and her husband learned techniques to help their daughter. Later, Du conducted her own research and her center has helped nearly 1,000 autistic children since 2011. Du holds that the earlier intervention and treatment is conducted, the higher the possibility of a normal life.

SOCIAL STIGMA

Roughly 1.14 percent of children in the United States is autistic . The number in China is harder to quantify. Autism has an incidence of between one and two percent worldwide. In China, more than 13 million people suffering from autism, including an estimated 1.8 million children.

The environment for autistic children in China is particularly harsh, and the condition remains largely misunderstood. To help the public understand autism, Du organizes charity activities, concerts and other public events.

"Autistic children have lost the game at square one," Du said.

"I am short-tempered, but God asked me to walk with a snail. I have to slow my pace," Du said in her book last year.

The Soong Ching Ling Foundation launched a fund for autistic children on Wednesday, with 3 million yuan (about 488,600 U.S. dollars) as the initial capital. Jing Dunquan, vice-chair of the foundation, said he aimed to educate the public, treat autistic children, help their families, and train medical staff to help the kids integrate into society. At Wednesday's performance, a member of the audience donated 200,000 yuan to the fund.

Even when diagnosed nothing much changes for many children. Facilities and teachers are ill-equipped to help. China only has about 300 autism rehabilitation centers, which is far from enough. Only children under six years old usually attend such centers. Mild and moderately autistic children are trained for six to 18 months before they are deemed capable of going to mainstream kindergartens.

In the United States, autistic children are integrated into society, with the help of special courses, trained teachers and medical professionals. The situation in China could hardly be more different. Many schools refuse to even admit autistic children. Other parents have threatened to have teachers dismissed if autistic children share their children's classes. Du estimates that less than 20 percent autistic Chinese children go to ordinary schools.

Du said she did not want Wednesday's show to be a bleeding-heart charity event, but instead, she wanted to send a message of equality, courage and confidence.

Thanks to Du's efforts, Xuan Xuan studies at one of Beijing's best primary schools where she is a student leaders. There are indeed extraordinary talents and abilities present in certain autistic children, but the number is very small. Another two performers at Wednesday's show also go to school like any other teenagers, where their guitar and piano skills receive high praise.

Qiuge and Qiuyu are in an autism class in a Beijing school. Endi