App Teaches Teachers to Interact With Autistic Children

Sixth Tone

2nd November 2017

App Teaches Teachers to Interact With Autistic Children

China lacks qualified institutions to care for its millions of children with autism.

Ingcare, an online education platform focusing on children with autism, has received millions of dollars in funding from investors, The Beijing News reported Tuesday, underscoring the lack of resources for parents and teachers.

Wang Wei, Ingcare’s founder, told “Sixth Tone” on Thursday that the company plans to use the money to improve education for teachers who deal with children with autism. He did not wish to disclose the exact amount of investment.

Currently, there are about 1,000 private institutions in China for children with autism, most of which were established by parents themselves. However, conservative estimates say that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) could affect roughly 1 percent of China’s population — about 10 million adults and 2 million children — and that 200,000 new diagnoses are made every year.

But the actual number is probably higher still, said Wang, citing a 2012 figure from the United States which said that one in 68 children has been diagnosed with ASD. In 2015, a second U.S. government survey said that the ratio of children with ASD among 3- to 17-year-olds could be as many as one in 45.

http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1001085/app-teaches-teachers-to-interact-with-autistic-children