Xinhua Insight: Autistic boy dies after treatment program of 20-km walks

An autism treatment center in south China is under investigation after the death of a child inmate who was made to walk about 20 km a day as part of his therapy.

Jiajia, four years old, died at the Tiandaozhengqi Rehabilitation Institution in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong Province, on April 27 from pneumonia and encephalitis.

The day before his death, Jiajia walked 19 km. "He became feverish and was up all night urinating," according to records kept by Tiandaozhengqi.

Jiajia's mother, Zhang Wei, sent him to the center in March. "I read the founder Xia Dejun's book on autism, and decided to give his treatments a try," she said.

Long-distance walking is a central part of the treatment program. "Xia said intense physical exercise helps children discharge toxins and boosts their overall heath," said Zhang.

The center also made children board there without their parents. Zhang, whose home in China's northeastern Liaoning Province is about 3,000 km from Guangzhou, said she was informed of her son's death over the phone.

"I was told the treatment was designed to replace parents who were too soft, and toughen up the children in mind and body," she said.

Zhang paid more than 15,000 yuan (about 2,300 U.S. dollars) per month for her son's treatment. At the time of Jiajia's death, there were about 11 children, aged between three and seven, at the center.

The center's operation has been suspended as it is being investigated by a government panel of police and business officials and doctors.

TREATMENT SKEPTICISM

Zou Xiaobing, an expert on childhood neurodevelopmental disorders with the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, said there is no theory supporting a link between physical exercise and treatment of autism.

"And taking the children away from their parents is fundamentally wrong, because the most common recovery method is social interaction between parents and children," he said.

There are estimated to be over 10 million people in China with autism, with about one fifth of them under 14 years of age, according to statistics published by China's Disabled Persons' Federation in April.

Education and treatment of autistic children in China are mainly dependent upon private institutions. In April, about 77,000 autistic children were registered with such institutions nationwide.

The treatment centers are in short supply. Zhang Wei had been looking at a treatment program in Beijing, but it had a waiting list of a year.

"We all know the earlier the intervention, the better the result, so I was eager to send Jiajia for treatment," Zhang said. "But I could not be more regretful of my decision." Endi