When Tian Huiping returned from graduate studies in Germany in 1987, her parents - who had been taking care of her small son - expressed concern about the toddler's lack of speech. But Ms Tian didn't want to believe there was anything wrong with her son. 'I told myself: 'Don't think too much, he's OK. Don't worry about him'.'
By the time he had turned three, Yang Tao was still not speaking. Ms Tian was anxious. She visited various doctors, but not one could tell her what the problem was. Finally, a psychiatrist diagnosed her son as being autistic, a condition present from early childhood, characterised by great difficulty communicating and forming relationships with people. The conventional advice given by doctors back then, when few had even heard of autism, was to have another child, using a loophole in China's strict one-child policy that allowed parents of handicapped children to have a second child.
'It was a difficult time,' Ms Tian said, shaking her head. 'I couldn't find anyone who could help me.'
Looking back, she says she's grateful that she was even able to get a diagnosis. Ms Tian says there are only 50 doctors in China today who are able to diagnose a patient with autism - but there are an estimated three million sufferers. 'I have met many parents over the years who didn't know what was wrong with their child,' she said.
In 1992, a friend urged Ms Tian to seek better medical care in Beijing. She was sceptical, but made one last attempt. 'I didn't know what to do with him,' she said. 'I was exhausted.'
Ms Tian and her seven-year-old son took the train to Beijing, where they visited top hospitals, but none of the doctors knew anything about autism. One hospital kept Yang Tao in for four months while it administered herbal treatments, none of which helped.