(Ecns.cn) -- In China, children with autism are often referred to as "stars," spending their lives alone in a remote universe of their own, far from the world most of us know.

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Autism is a neural developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication. It has no cure. But special education can dramatically improve quality of life and functional independence for those who suffer from it.

Tongtong, an autistic six-year-old girl, can now say several simple sentences after receiving therapy at Stars and Rain, a specialized educational institute in Beijing.

The exact number of autistic children in China is impossible to pin down, but estimates place it in the millions. Relatively few of those kids have access to such professional attention.

Wandering in the dark

"Autistic children live in their own world, leaving their parents in the dark," says one mother of two affected by autism spectrum disorders.

The Chinese film "Ocean Heaven," which stars Jet Li, brought the lives of families with autistic children to widespread public attention. The heart-wrenching story was inspired by the real life of Tian Huiping, the founder of Stars and Rain, and her son Taotao, who was diagnosed with autism when he was four.

In a televised interview, Tian confessed that she had been depressed and desperate enough to consider killing herself and Taotao. But when she saw her boy smiling up at her happily, she realized she couldn't do it: "I thought, I have no right to end his life, and I cannot kill myself and leave him behind."

Out of that moment 23 years ago grew an incredible resolve, the kind of dogged determination found in a mother protecting her young.

Almost every mother of an autistic child has had a similar experience.

Yu Lijun, president of the Xinjiang-based Hongshi Foundation, a charitable non-governmental organization, says a family runs the risk of sacrificing all it has and ever will have to raise an autistic child.

Cries for help

"When people talk about autism, they simply treat it as a medical issue, but taking care of autistic children is actually an education issue," says Sun Menglin, founder of an autism education and research center in Beijing.

In March of 1993, Tian Huiping gave up her prestigious job in Chongqing so she could move to the capital and establish Stars and Rain, the country's first nonprofit educational organization for autism.

She says the plan was not only to help Taotao, but also to help other parents with autistic kids.

Yet after two decades of work, difficulties still exist. Tian has repeatedly called for more favorable policies for NGOs, for example, which often struggle to cover rents and employee wages.

The Aixin Mutual Aid Association, the only non-governmental charitable organization for autism in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, doesn't even have a fixed location, according to its deputy head, Yu Shuangmei.

"The association mainly depends on donations, and our headquarters has changed location nearly 40 times in the past year," Yu says.

Almost all such centers face similar financial difficulties, and finding personnel to staff them is an even greater challenge.

Lifelong commitment

In "Ocean Heaven," Jet Li plays the loving single father of an autistic son, who he has looked after for more than 20 years. But when Li's character is diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, he begins to worry about his son's future.

The film touches on realistic issues, but unfolds in an idealistic way: friends, neighbors and colleagues are considerate and supportive.

In reality, society is far less enlightened.

"Children with autism are covered by a special education network only until the age of 14," says Ouyang Peijie, president of the Disabled Persons' Federation in Guangzhou's Shunde district.

Autistic children 14 and younger are given 1,300 yuan (US$209) a month, but only patients from low-income families qualify for it after the child turns 15, he adds.

"Many autism patients stop therapy after 14, and that's when their quality of life begins to decline," points out Zhou Jinjie, a local expert.

Yao Jianjian, a member of the Shanghai committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has advised the city government to provide lifelong care for people with autism.

"After they grow up, all autism patients have to stay at home, because there is no follow-up care or training for this special group of people," Yang says. "They have almost no social support."

Developed countries such as Japan and Canada all have special education and training plans for people with autism, so their welfare continues to improve, he adds.

Yao suggests that the city government should set up a social service welfare system covering early diagnosis and intervention, rehabilitation, education, employment and care throughout adulthood for autistic people.