Social stigma of autism remains strong in China
The Autism News | English
BEIJING : China is a relatively latecomer to the diagnosis and treatment of autism, a developmental disorder.
Even though progress has been made over the past two decades in its treatment and understanding, families still struggle to cope with autism, especially its social stigma.
Sufferers of the disorder tend to withdraw from the outside world, and have impaired social interaction and communication skills.
Teachers at Peking University Hospital’s training centre for autistic children, for example, try to improve an autistic child’s ability to make eye contact and perform simple tasks such as hitting a ball.
For several decades now, autism in China was not only an unfamiliar condition, but had often been wrongly diagnosed. In fact, it was only as late as 2006 that it was officially recognised and registered as a disability.
Dr Jia Meixiang, an autism specialist at Peking University No. 6 Hospital, said: “Many years ago, a child came to me and he seemed strange. We wondered if he was a handicapped genius. He was quick with numbers, and could calculate faster than a calculator, right down to several decimal places. But (he lacked)…social interaction (skills). So we weren’t sure how to categorise him.”
But with greater awareness and early intervention, children are being diagnosed at a younger age.
Dr Jia Meixiang said: “This is due to publicity from the health department, plus we now have better diagnostic skills for younger children. In the past, we were afraid to diagnose it if a child is too young. We weren’t sure if the child had normal developmental problems or was really autistic.”
Those who receive early treatment tend to relate better to others and assimilate well with society.
But even so, the stigma of autism remains strong.
Few parents agreed to speak to Channel NewsAsia on camera. Many reminded our reporter repeatedly not to film their children, for fear of being identified.
The only exception was the grandmother of five-year-old Sun Haoxiang. He was diagnosed when he was two.
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