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在线翻译:
szdaily -> In depth -> 
Autistic children’s education: A hard way to go
    2012-09-27  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

Wang Yuanyuan

cheekywang@hotmail.com

A FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD autistic boy was forced to drop out of school earlier this month after parents of his classmates at Baocheng Primary School in Bao’an District complained about his negative influence on other students.

The boy, Li Meng, is now receiving medical evaluation in Guangzhou and is expected to return to school after efforts jointly made by the school, the district’s education bureau and One Foundation, a charity.

Li’s situation has drawn attention to the issue of autism since media started reporting it. In one week, the story drew over 200,000 comments online.

“Only families with an autistic child know how hard it is to deal with this issue. Although he is disruptive in class, Li is an enthusiastic student. He even tried to sneak back into the classroom after being sent out,” Hao Nan, Li’s mother, said.

Some experts estimated there were up to 10,000 autistic children in Shenzhen by 2011.

The city is woefully ill-equipped to deal with such a number. There are 22 institutions for autistic children. Among them, 14 are government-funded, including five medical organizations and one special education school.

Shenzhen Children’s Hospital has only six teachers. Each teacher gives one-to-one 90-minute lessons for 150 yuan (US$23.8) each.

“There are too few doctors and the tuition is very expensive. If you miss one section, you have to wait another six months for it,” said Wang Qun, mother of an autistic child.

At present, Yuanping Special Education School, the only government-funded school for disabled children in the city, can accommodate just 700 students, 20 percent of whom are autistic.

“Due to limited resources, only children with Shenzhen hukou whose autism is particularly severe can apply to enter the school, so most autistic children have no chance of going there,” Wang said.

However, many normal schools refuse to take them in as their teachers are not trained to work with disabled children and they can be disruptive in class.

“When my child was 3 years old, nearly all the kindergartens in the city refused to give him a place. When he was 5, a kindergarten in Bao’an District begrudgingly accepted him because it needed the money. However, his teachers kept him in solitary confinement to prevent him from influencing other students,” Wang said.

After encountering so much prejudice, Wang decided to open a training center of her own. “I knew nothing about business or education, but it was the only way to give my son and similar children somewhere to go,” she said.

Some parents choose to home school their children. “We have no choice. Nobody would educate him so we have to do it ourselves,” said Wu Jinglian, mother of an autistic 20-year-old in the city.

Yang Bin, director of the autistic recovery center of Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, suggests that parents send their children to the hospital as soon as the illness is diagnosed. “The best period for treating autism is before age 3. The earlier they are treated, the better chance they have of leading a normal life. If they are ignored and kept at home, their conditions will worsen and it will be more difficult to fit in at school,” Yang said.

 

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