Zhao Weihua, founder of the Starlight Autism Rehabilitation Training Center. [Photo by Zhong Peiyuan / Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A mother of an autistic boy has established a "homeland" for the kids with the condition to help them return to normal life in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

Zhao Weihua, 49, created the Starlight Autism Rehabilitation Training Center in 2005, after years of searching for ways to help her son, Zhou Jiakai, who was born in 2000.

As the boy grew, his mother found him unable to focus and sit still. He didn't speak and rarely participated in activities with other children. Worried, she took him to the doctor. He was diagnosed with autism in 2003.

Children with autism receive professional training at the first rehabilitation training center in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. [Photo by Zhong Peiyuan / Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhao plunged into autism research and found that the biggest problem for autistic children is social communication. Over a six-month period in 2005, she obtained rehabilitation training for her son in Beijing.

When they returned to Yinchuan, Zhao thought of establishing a training center there. It would be the first such facility in the region and would be based at a kindergarten in the city.

Currently, more than 1,500 children with autism, intellectual disabilities and Down syndrome have received professional training at the center.

Since 2007, Zhao's son has been attending school and is now able to live on his own.

Nie Linjiao contributed to the story.

Autistic children go to class with their parents. [Photo by Zhong Peiyuan / Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Children with autism receive professional training at the first rehabilitation training center in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. [Photo by Zhong Peiyuan / Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Children with autism receive professional training at the first rehabilitation training center in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. [Photo by Zhong Peiyuan / Provided to chinadaily.com.cn]