Editor's note: Wang Yan is a senior specialist at the National Institute of Educational Sciences. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN. 

April 2 marks the 12th annual World Autism Awareness Day, an internationally recognized day designated by the United Nations General Assembly with the aim of raising awareness about people with autism spectrum disorder across the globe and help people with autism to have a better quality life.

Today, hundreds of thousands of landmarks, buildings, homes and communities around the world, have turned blue in recognition of people living with autism, a part of the campaign of Light it Up Blue that fosters understanding and acceptance of those with autism. Autism-friendly events and educational activities also take place all month to raise understanding and acceptance and foster worldwide support.

Originally autism referred to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech, and nonverbal communication. Later it was generally defined as a complex developmental disability. There is a wide spectrum of autism that demonstrates disorder in behaviors in terms of communication, motor skills and social interaction in varying degrees.

Children with autism usually exhibit signs of autism at the early stage of their childhoods that often impair their communication skills. Although there have been various research findings shedding light on the process of neurological disorder, curing autism has remained an unresolved issue. It has been found out that there is no known single cause of autism and genetic factors play a critical role, among other things. But research also shows that increased awareness and early diagnosis and intervention can lead to significantly improved outcomes.

The number of people diagnosed with autism rose by between 6 percent and 15 percent each year from 2002 to 2010. There are an estimated 70 million people in the world with autism, with 80 percent of them living in developing countries. Faced with such challenges, what can be done to raise awareness about autism to help them out, especially those in developing countries?

Conferences and symposia about autism could facilitate the sharing of knowledge and information, in particular for professionals. Medical camps provide an opportunity for parents of autistic children to consult with doctors and other specialists to gain first-hand knowledge about how to manage the condition.

In addition, events such as the exhibition of artwork about autism could also contribute to raising awareness of autism through the circulation of reports on different media platforms. They could even inspire people with autism to participate.

The United Nations theme for the 2019 World Autism Awareness Day is Assistive Technology, Active Participation, highlighting the use of assistive technologies for people with autism. Technology might play a critical role in removing the barriers between people with autism and their access to social resources, thus promoting equality, equity and inclusion. But exactly how can assistive technology play a role in curing autism?

In general, affordable assistive technologies could enable people with autism to have equal rights to freely participate in community activities. In particular, technologies help all children develop communication skills which could help them engage with other people in their daily lives, such as early childhood programs, after-school programs, recreational activities, transportation, and social environments

In China, the situation is not promising as well, with one in 150 children diagnosed with autism. In recent years, the Chinese government has been committed to providing non-discriminative education services to them. In particular, the government issued a Regulation on Education for the Disabled in 2017 that mandates that every child should be enrolled in schools and nobody should be denied schooling. It stipulates that education services should be provided to disabled children, including autistic children, by mainstreaming or inclusion education or by separately established schools. In the same vein, the National Special Education Plan 2017-2020 also prioritizes education services for autistic children.

Hopefully with increased awareness, assistive technologies and policy action, autistic children will enjoy a better quality of life worldwide.

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