German volunteers teach children at Beijing Stars and Rain Education Institute for Autism how to make cookies.[Photo/China Daily]

At the time, however, there were only three doctors in China qualified to diagnose the disorder, while public health authorities had no idea what it was.

Tian took on a mission－she started an autism research institute in 1993, and over time, decided with friends to begin helping families with autistic children. Her institute has been through many difficulties, but it has come through thanks to help from many individuals and organizations.

Tian is now semi-retired, but she still cares for her son, who is 29. Her other "child", Stars and Rain, has grown into China's largest private autistic research institute and has helped many people. In the past decade, it has trained more than 2,000 teachers and parents from more than 9,000 families, who in turn have helped Stars and Rain grow into a network of 230 branches nationwide.

Most autistic rehab centers in China are now directed by graduates of the Stars and Rain program, according to Sun. "We're happy they're using the knowledge and skills they gained here to help more families."

The training program generally lasts 10 weeks, but there is only room for 50 families each time due to limited facilities. The waiting list to enroll is about 18 months.

A shortage of resources also means the institute is only open to autistic people under 18, while Sun said his staff are most confident training children under 12. To help those over 18, Sun said the training is more complicated. The student program for ages 12 to 18 has been in the pilot stage since 2006 and has room for just seven students under the guidance of four full-time teachers.

"We're proud of having helped so many people," Sun said. "But think about the total number of patients nationwide. We, as an NGO, can only help a very small percentage of them."

The long-term focus of the training is to help autistic students to become self-reliant and learn basic skills that will boost their chances of finding work in the future.

"We can relieve some of the burden on parents by taking care of an autistic child, but hopefully we want to set that child onto an almost-normal life track."

Han Junhong contributed to this story.