A child suffering from autism touches a white whale at the Harbin Polarland in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006. Two white whales from the polar aquarium have been domesticated to be "doctors" for children suffering from autism. They can touch the whales, feed them and do other intercommunion activities.   Chinanews, Beijing, Dec. 6 – Since China reported 4 autistic cases in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, some 1.8 million people in China have been suffering from autism, including 400 thousand autistic children.

 

A census of China’s handicapped reveals that autism has become a main mental disease in China, and most autistic children not only have to struggle against their disease, but also encounter several obstacles in their lives, like enrolling in primary and secondary schools.

 

According to Jia Meixiang, vice director of Beijing Autistic Research Association of Peking University No. 6 Hospital, Western developed countries use their governmental revenues to help autistic, while in China autistic children have to rely on their parents. The latter usually have their own careers and have little time to take care of their children. As a result, some of the parents are forced to quit their jobs to look after their children.

 

People in China still have little knowledge about autism, and there are few social organizations devoted to communication with and assistance for autism sufferers. Chinese laws contain provisions on protection of the rights of the disabled but not the autistic.