They sit in the classroom, appearing no different from other children. But a close watch would find them wearing straight faces all the time. They neither talk nor even have eye contact with their teachers and classmates. An American film grants them with a poetic name: rainman, or autistic.

In Zhengzhou, capital city of central China's Henan Province, the Kangda Training Center is home to over 60 such children with autism aged from three to six.

"If not treated timely and properly, they might shut themselves in their own world and lose the communication ability all life long," said Zhang Gui'e, 43-year-old director of the training center, who had been working on autism since 1997.

The four-year-old Yang Yang (pseudonym) from northwest China's Gansu Province had seldom cried since he was born, let alone speaking. "Many of our neighbours even didn't know we had a child, " said his sorrowful mother, who herself is a teacher.

The first course the boy took in the training center is breathing with mouth as preparation for speaking. When the teacher covered his nostrils, Yang Yang fainted.

Half a month later, however, the boy uttered his first call of "mom", and his mother couldn't fight back her tears.

A quick-learner, Yang Yang graduated after six months' training, but according to Zhang Gui'e, most children have to spend half to one month to become responsive to callings of their names.

Phonation is a more difficult subject. One teacher voices loudly while another makes the mouth shape of the sound. They have to practice for so many times that some teachers yelled themselves hoarse.

It is also important to know what the kids like to eat, said Zhang, so that teachers could award the learners with their favorite food as encouragement for them to move on.

Founded on March 11, 2002, the center has trained over 300 children. But the number is only a drop of water in the ocean in China.

By estimate, there are about 5 million autistic in China, including some 650,000 with serious symptoms, said Jiao Min, doctor with the Zhengzhou Children's Hospital. Among the "rainmen", nearly 800,000 are aged below 14.

"Unresponsive as they seem, many autistic children are born with special talents," said Zhang Gui'e, who noted that Yang Yang can take down the score of a song immediately he hears it, while another boy, the five-year-old Shan Shan (pseudonym) has incredibly good memory, who could remember long digital numbers after just one sight.

The cause of autism is still a mystery. Some scientists believe that it has basis in genetics while others blame environmental toxin.

As the autistic children are generally silent, they are always mistreated as dumb and thus miss the proper time for cure, said Zhang. Some parents even ignore their children's dumbness in the belief that "grandees talk late".

Doctor Jiao Min noted that 80 percent of her patients' parents said they had never heard of autism before.

"Autistic children should be treated as soon as possible, and treatment would become difficult after they exceed four," she said, "but unfortunately many children lost the chance owing to their parents' ignorance."

While Zhang Gui'e is more concerned about the children's life after they left the training center. "Their symptoms will rebound unless normal communication with others is ensured to cement the achievement."

Some parents try to ask for help from kindergartens, however, the latter often turn down their requirements. "On the one hand, we have no special teachers to take care of them, while on the other hand, we fear rejection and protest from other parents," said a kindergarten staff on condition of anonymity.

Zhang Gui'e is preparing for a performance slated for Thursday with children from the training center, in the hope of calling for attention from the society.

Another purpose of the performance is soliciting donation. In the last performance Zhang received 200,000 yuan (25,000 U.S. dollars).

"With the money I could receive more children from under-privileged families," she said.

Source: Xinhua