Young victims of cerebral palsy crying out for help

His family did not give up on him. Instead, they made great sacrifices to continue his treatment and education.

After years of effort, Zhang is now able to work and live much as others do, despite not being able to walk and talk as normal.

Zhang never forgot a girl he knew who also had the disease and used to be in a better condition than he was.

But with the prospect of recovery dim and treatment costly, her family chose to stop the treatment.

Today, she is confined to a trolley, and has to depend totally on others to move her around.

"I cannot help feeling sad whenever someone praises me, after they know what I have gone through," Zhang says.

Although he is happy to see more charities paying attention to his fellow sufferers and offering help, the majority of patients in China are not as fortunate as he is.

The freedom of dance

They are more likely to share the immobile fate of his friend, Zhang adds.

"In the past years, the government and society have made big progress in helping children in need, but there is still much to do," says Yang Peng, the secretary-general of One Foundation.

The healthcare system also covers more diseases for children than in the past.

The Ministry of Education has also issued regulations to guarantee the quality of special schools for children physically and intellectually challenged.

In addition, charitable associations and foundations in China nowadays are better able to help children in need, including children with cerebral palsy.

But such help is merely a drop in the ocean, Yang says.

"If the country legislates to guarantee welfare of families with CP children, it will be much more efficient and beneficial to them than the weak support from charities," Yang says.

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn