Learning to live with an autistic child
The Autism News | English
The number of autistic children in Viet Nam has increased five-fold in the past 15 years, yet parents still have difficulty finding useful information about the condition. Vu Lan Dung reports.
While I am in an interview with a mother, her tall son with a bright face appears and suddenly takes the recorder from me. “You do not have her permission to take it. Give it back to her,” his mother says gently. He looks at her but still holds it tightly in his hands. Fourteen-year-old Mai Thanh Tung is an autistic child.
Tu ky, the Vietnamese word for autism, has more than 3 million results on the internet, yet families with autistic children still have difficulties finding useful information on this condition.
The more information parents get, the more of a matrix they fall into. Therefore, many parents decide to treat their children using their own methods.
The mother I am speaking with, Pham Thi Yen, repeats the sentence once again. Then the son gives her back my recorder. His reaction – as a child with autism, is different from what I have read about autistic children.
Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders. La Thi Buoi, director of the Research and Training Centre for Community Development, said that now the world had not found an exact cause but genetics, brain damage and living conditions were all considered factors causing autism. Autistic children have a hard time understanding others’ sayings, expressing their opinions and feelings in a meaningful way, she added.
Please share your reaction! Give your opinion by filling out the form below.
Share this news with friends, family, or colleagues by clicking on the shortcuts below:
