Doctor visit, rehabilitation and foster care of children with autism spectrum disorders in Heilongjiang Province

Objective To understand the status of doctor visit, rehabilitation and foster care of children with autism spectrum disorders in Heilongjiang Province, and to provide a scientific reference for improving ASD rehabitation education system and making the related policies. Methods Eight autism rehabilitation institutions were selected in Heilongjiang Province by stratified cluster sampling, 357 primary caregivers of ASD children participated in the survey by using the questionnaire "ASD Children's Rehabilitation Education Status and Needs". Results The average age of abnormal behavior found of ASD children was (31.08±12.96) months, and the average age of first doctor visit was (35.88±13.20) months, the average age of diagnose was (38.64±13.20) months, and initial rehabilitation was (43.56±16.08) months. The proportion of children who had been diagnosed and have trained in the rehabilitation institutions before the age of 3 years was only 39.0% and 32.0%, respectively. The proportion of rehabilitation out of home town was 47.3%, and rehabilitation>20 hours per week was 73.4%. The proportion of fathers' and mothers' work lives affected was 34.5% and 67.8%, respectively, the differences were of statistical signficance (χ2=226.32, P<0.01). About 41.2% of ASD families received government financial support. Conclusion The average age of diagnose is late prolonged, and the proportion of children diagnosed and training before the age of 3 years was relatively low. There were obvious regional differences of rehabilitation education resources distributions of ASD in Heilongjiang Province. The results also demonstrate the need to sustain and enhance the coverage rate of the government financial support.