China unveils 5-year plan for better rehab, schooling for autistic children

Coordinated approach aims to strengthen services to promote healthy growth and all-round development

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Some 3 to 5 million children under the age of 14 in China are estimated to have autism, with about 160,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:00pm, 3 Aug 2024Updated: 5:38pm, 3 Aug 2024

China has launched a five-year action plan to strengthen care services for children with autism and solve the “urgent, difficult and anxious” problems faced by their families when seeking support.

The Autism Children Care Promotion Action plan was jointly released last week by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, the Ministry of Education, and top public health bodies, with a pledge to increase rehabilitation services.

According to the notice announcing the plan, some regions and departments have achieved “remarkable results” in recent years to improve screening and diagnosis, as well as rehabilitation and education levels, but there were still “outstanding difficulties and problems”.

Over the next five years, the plan aims to further strengthen services to promote healthy growth and all-round development of children with autism, the notice said. “We will strengthen overall planning, coordination and linkage, and resource integration,” it said.

About one in 100 children has one or more of the diverse group of conditions that constitutes autism spectrum disorder, according to the World Health Organization.

More than 10 million people in China – or 0.7 per cent of the population – are estimated to have the condition, according to a report released in March by the Wucailu Centre for Children with Autism, one of China’s largest research and intervention centres for the condition.