Mainland to set up official center for autistic patients  

内地筹备成立全国孤独症服务协会

“中国现有孤独症服务机构约500家，超过六成为民办，其中大部分机构是孤独症儿童妈妈创办，缺少专业知识和管理经验。目前各机构发展参差不齐，筹备成立行业协会势在必行。”

Guangzhou (CNS) -- The Chinese Mainland is planning to set up an official service association for people who suffer from autism, according to the China Association of Persons with Psychiatric Disability and their Relatives (CAPPDR) on Thursday.

China is home to over 1.5 million autistic children, and there are only 500 service centers for autistic people in the mainland, said Wen Hong, deputy director of the association.

Most of the existing service centers were established by mothers of autistic children, and nursing staff at these centers are not professionally trained, Wen added.

After establishing the official service association for autistics, professional training programs will be available to cultivate more nursing staff that can care for autistic patients. The association will also communicate with its international counterparts, according to Wen.

The association center will be launched on April 2, 2014, which is also World Autism Day.