Experts say the earlier they can treat autistic children, the better their chances of improvement. But for many youngsters the waiting list is too long

Oliver Chou:

Dannen Chan Kim-wai vividly recalls the joy he felt when his son - "a lovely and healthy child" - was born in 2005. But there was a problem. As he grew, Rex didn't speak a word, he says.

"Friends comforted us with the usual words, saying that boys typically start talking later than girls. But when all my boy uttered was a single syllable 'da' at age two, we decided not to wait. We took him to the Child Assessment Centre. There he was diagnosed as having symptoms of autism."

Hong Kong is seeing a big leap in autism cases. Last year, the Health Department diagnosed about 1,500 children under the age of 12 with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) compared with 218 children in 2000. That is a five-fold increase over the past 10 years.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 18, 2011 1:25 AM
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