Parents demand school expel autistic child

A 15-year-old autistic boy in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, was asked to leave school for the fourth time since May, after 19 parents of his classmates jointly signed a letter demanding the boy be expelled complaining that he disturbs the class with inappropriate behavior.

The grade-five student attending the Shenzhen Baocheng Elementary School was asked to leave at the beginning of this semester after the parents sent the petition to the school.

Cai Shulian, a head teacher, was quoted by the Guangzhou-based New Express as saying that the boy would often put his hands in his mouth and then touch classmates with his fingers. "Many of his classmates are frightened of him."

Cai could not be reached by the Global Times as late of Wednesday.

"He doesn't lack intelligence, he has trouble communicating with others," the boy's mother, surnamed Zhang, told the Global Times, adding that schools for children with learning disabilities are not suitable for her son.

"I insist on sending my son to a normal school, but I am starting to worry that no school will accept him as there is a lot of bias against autistic children," Zhang said.

"With the help of education officials, we are now trying to contact special schools," Lin Xiyu, principal of the elementary school, told the Global Times, adding that they believe a school for students with special needs is a better fit for the boy.

State education authorities in 1994 stipulated that ordinary schools cannot refuse to accept children with disabilities who meet the school's enrollment requirements.

Another autistic child in the city, who was expelled from school after biting other students, died after he jumped off the balcony of his home last Friday while his mother was at his school trying to negotiate his return to class.

The Shenzhen Autism Society estimates there are between 1.5 and 2.7 million autistic children in the country.