Number of Autism Patients in Vietnam Rockets in Past 15 Years: Prof.

Vietnam saw a sudden rise in the number of autism patients, which rose by as much as 50 times between 2000 and 2007 and reached more than 200,000 currently, state media reported, adding that the number could be 500,000 according to criteria by the World Health Organization (WHO). The actual number is definitely much higher as it results from lifestyle and bustling social development, state media cited Professor Pham Minh Muc from Vietnam Institution of Education Sciences as saying at a conference on April 1. Autism, a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts, is no longer a disease but a thorny issue burdening Vietnam as both family and the society lack measures to take care and educate them to enable them to rehabilitate. Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai from Hanoi Medical University said at the conference that autism sufferers in Vietnam have yet to be cared, protected and supported by the government-run organizations and the country needs to soon have policies for them. Ministries of Health; of Education and Training, and of Labor, Invalids and Social Affair need to join hands to support them, she noted. Statistics by the WHO showed that Vietnam has roughly 15% of total population suffering from mental disorders. (VietNamNet April 4, Tuyengiao.vn April 4)