Beijing Mom Highlights Shortage of Autism Therapists, Despite Offer of Training

A Beijing mom’s search for therapy for her autistic son has highlighted the shortage of special needs services in China.

Nicole Simon’s son was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder at the age of 2. “When he was diagnosed I was told he needed behavioral therapy called ABA (applied behavioral analysis),” she told beijingkids. “It is the only approved treatment for kids with autism and also other behavioral disorders. I was told that the earlier kids get this therapy, the better the chance of their progress and they can lead productive, independent lives. They work on skills that do not come to these kids naturally like eye contact, speech, interactions with other children and adults and how to play appropriately.”

In the US, Simon’s son was receiving 36 hours of therapy a week, in what she describes as “a school-like environment with other kids.” He was making good progress, so before coming to China Simon carried out research into whether the therapy would be available here.

“The issue with this therapy is that it is very expensive,” Simon told us, “and the kids need many hours (depending on their level of functioning). It is also one-on-one, so if one therapist has a child who needs 40 hours then that is the only case they can accept. There are also different levels, and the highest [qualified]sometimes need to supervise cases with the lower level, which decreases the amount of kids they can help. In the US the maximum allowance for insurances is 40 hours per week. In China I was told that the maximum is 15 hours per week, and that is for extremely difficult cases.”

Another problem is the availability of qualified, English-speaking therapists.

“I worked on looking for therapists several months before moving,” Simon said, “and was told the only two places in Beijing that had this therapy were Olivia’s Place and The Learning Frontier. I visited both places in May. The Learning Frontier only had one English-speaking woman therapist, and she has now gone on indefinite medical leave and this location provides no ABA services (at least not in English). Olivia’s Place has a high turnover of therapists. They do provide speech and occupational therapies, but the ABA is something I’m still trying to get my insurance and their billing to work out so that we can get evaluated. They only have one English-speaking therapist from Hong Kong currently and I do not know how many hours they would have available.”

Even when provision is offered, Simon said, staffing remains a problem.

“There is a new center opening early next year called Autism Partnership. They are staffing now and the Hong Kong location is responsible for this. They are having difficulties hiring staff, and especially English-speaking people. They train everyone themselves so I do not think experience in the field is the biggest issue. I have asked if I could assist in finding English-speaking therapists from abroad, and they said they are not open to that at this time because of the costs associated with visas and housing. I was hoping they would have space for my son in this center, but they said they cannot guarantee they will take any English-speaking cases.”

beijingkids contacted the Autism Partnership to find out what qualifications are required to begin the training. While bringing people from overseas is not currently viable, it may be that there are people already in China who are willing to train for what could be a rewarding career. However at the time of writing we have not received any response.

China has come a long way in a short time in terms of understanding of and support for children with learning difficulties. However Simon’s problem illustrates that there is still a severe shortage of appropriate resources, particularly for the international community. If anyone think they can help, or is interested in training as an ABA therapist, then contact us at beijingkids (WeChat ID: AndyKilleen), and we will try to connect you with the right people.

Photo: JoanDragonfly via Flickr