Enchi Education Leverages Technology to Empower Autism Rehabilitation Industry on the 13th World Autism Awareness Day

April 2, 2020, marked the 13th World Autism Awareness Day. Without this day, would you still be willing to learn about it?

This year, the theme of the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day campaign focuses on the importance of “Transition to Adulthood,” while also highlighting to society the series of critical issues faced by individuals with autism during this transitional phase, with the aim of drawing global attention.

According to the incidence data report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 26, 2020, one in every 54 children in the United States has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (1:54), representing an increase of nearly 10% in prevalence. Currently, the prevalence of ASD in China is approximately 1:100, with the total number of individuals with ASD exceeding 10 million. Among them, more than 2.5 million are children aged 0 to 14 years, and this figure is growing at an annual rate of nearly 1.5%. China continues to face significant challenges in both the number of pediatric cases and the provision of treatment and corrective interventions.

For children with autism, the general public often harbors many “romanticized misconceptions”: that they can produce artworks of considerable skill in charity events; that they either possess superior intelligence or simply adhere to a somewhat quirky behavioral pattern—a social style that even appears somewhat endearing in today’s context.

“Autism” Medical Term: “Autism Spectrum Disorder” (ASD), internationally referred to as “ASD.” Its core features include deficits in social communication and social interaction, as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Although the etiology of ASD remains unclear and there is no curative medication, the timing and methods of post-diagnostic rehabilitative interventions can lead to significantly different prognoses for patients. It is generally believed that earlier detection and earlier intervention yield more pronounced effects and better outcomes. The ages of 3 to 6 years constitute the golden window for intervention.

Since the rehabilitation of autism is a long-term, even lifelong process of training and treatment, it consumes considerable time and energy from rehabilitation therapists. I recall a parent of an affected child once wrote: “When I discovered that my child was different from others, what I needed to do was not to kneel down, but to lie down—to become a bridge for him, allowing my child to walk across me to the other side…” Reading such words, we can all understand the inner struggles faced by parents of children with autism. It is precisely for this reason that society is increasingly paying attention to patients, calling on everyone to care for these children and show compassion toward patients around us. We sincerely hope that one day, society will enable each of us to lie down with gratitude in our hearts, truly building these bridges for others as well as for ourselves.

At Enqi Education, the “Dragon Ball Project,” featuring seven major initiatives, has been ongoing since February.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people’s plans have been disrupted, and the educational routines of countless families with children on the autism spectrum have been thrown into disarray. “My child used to go out on a regular schedule, but now he cannot understand why he is not allowed to leave the house. He acts out severely at home every day, screaming and throwing things around when he becomes agitated. He had been receiving rehabilitation training at an intervention center with teachers providing instruction, but due to the pandemic, we are now confined to our home. At times, I feel like crying from anxiety, but I tell myself to persevere; it is truly overwhelming,” said the mother of Xuanxuan (a pseudonym), a child with autism in Wuhan.

“Staying at home every day, I feel completely at a loss about how to help my child,” admitted Xiaohang’s mother (a pseudonym) from Beijing. She has read numerous books on autism spectrum disorder and gathered relevant information online, hoping to provide home-based intervention for her child during the suspension of classes at specialized intervention centers. Her goal is to prevent her child from falling behind or regressing; however, she acknowledges that her capabilities are limited compared to those of professional therapists.

In accordance with national requirements, offline courses and training provided by various educational institutions were strictly prohibited across China. The mother of Xuanxuan and Xiaohang is representative of the ten million parents of children with special needs during the pandemic. This unexpected outbreak has made the path to educational rehabilitation for these “children of the stars” even more arduous. As a leading player in China’s pediatric rehabilitation and education sector, how did Ingcare Education efficiently respond to the challenges posed by the pandemic? Amidst the crisis, what new industry directions did Ingcare Education uncover by taking an unconventional approach?

Affected by this major public health emergency, the Ministry of Education announced a postponement of the start of the school semester while also advocating for the appropriate use of online platforms to ensure that “classes are suspended, but teaching and learning continue.”

During the pandemic, Enqi leveraged its comprehensive online service platform to unite elite educators from across China and swiftly launched the “Dragon Ball Initiative.” Through seven key measures, the initiative helped teachers, parents, children, and institutions navigate these challenging times. Enqi provided an interactive communication platform for over 150,000 parent users via Enqi Cloud Classroom, the VB-MAPP Assessment Assistant, self-media channels, the Enqi Community APP, and an online pediatric service platform. The “IDEA General Education Course for Parents of Children with Autism,” comprising 102 lessons, was offered free of charge—valued at RMB 15 million—to families in Hubei Province, frontline medical personnel, households receiving subsistence allowances or holding disability certificates, kindergartens, hospitals and clinics, parent mutual-aid organizations, public welfare entities, and rehabilitation institutions. Additionally, through the IDEA Home System, precisely tailored home-based intervention plans were delivered to parents undergoing internal training.

In this initiative, we also partnered with the Youth Growth Fund of the China Social Welfare Foundation and the Beijing Aixin Service Team of Lions Clubs International to donate remote learning courses to institutions in Wuhan. These concrete actions have received enthusiastic responses from parents across China and public welfare mutual-aid organizations.

To strengthen the capacity building of autism rehabilitation institutions across various regions and enhance the professional competence of technical personnel in autism rehabilitation, the online training program “IDEA Special Education Fundamental Theory Course,” developed by Enqi, has been designated as a mandatory training course by multiple provincial and municipal Disabled Persons’ Federations and rehabilitation centers. These include the Hubei Provincial Disabled Persons’ Federation, Shandong Provincial Disabled Persons’ Federation, Fujian Provincial Rehabilitation and Education Center for Persons with Disabilities, Hunan Provincial Rehabilitation and Education Center for Persons with Disabilities, Hinggan League Disabled Persons’ Federation, Hainan Provincial Association for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Office for Rehabilitation Work of Persons with Disabilities. The course is provided free of charge to autism rehabilitation professionals throughout China.

It is reported that Enqi has offered more than 5,000 free learning slots through its 320 training partner institutions and 480 institutions using the VB-MAPP Assessment Assistant SaaS system across China. Over 30,000 rehabilitation teachers nationwide attended the same class, with free training courses valued at RMB 5 million provided to rehabilitation professionals in the industry.

Enqi Education differs from traditional chain rehabilitation institutions in the industry. Established in February 2014, it leverages “Internet Plus” to drive an overall enhancement of professional standards in the autism rehabilitation and education sector, ensuring that every child with autism has access to superior rehabilitation and educational services. Their goal is to make rehabilitation more effective.

After six years of development, Enqi has become a high-tech education enterprise driving the internetization and digitalization of the rehabilitation education industry. With technology as its core driver, Enqi combines self-operated services with professional licensing outputs, boasting strong advantages in content and curriculum creation as well as technological innovation. Enqi has established a positive cycle encompassing an internet platform, teacher training, and directly operated chain centers, creating significant competitive barriers. The platform has served tens of thousands of families with affected children and trained more than one-third of the rehabilitation therapists in the industry. It provides curriculum services and systematic data support to partner institutions nationwide. By employing a systematic vocational training model, Enqi has successfully built the largest training platform in China’s special education field and the largest database for autism assessment in children. It is currently the most technologically advanced and professionally capable institution in China for research and rehabilitation education concerning childhood autism.

In the future, Enqi will leverage its strengths in content, technology, and data to comprehensively empower families of children with autism and support the development of small and medium-sized institutions in third- and fourth-tier cities.

The prevalence of autism in China is high and shows a gradual upward trend, with the number of children under 14 years old exceeding 2.5 million. There is a significant demand for rehabilitation services, but the social security system has not yet reached the level of developed countries or regions. The penetration rate of diagnosis and treatment is low, and there is a severe shortage of qualified teachers. In the face of this serious social issue, Enqi continues to promote the establishment of industry standards.

During the rehabilitation process, data on the completion of phased goals serve as a key metric for evaluating rehabilitation outcomes. In alignment with this standard, Enqi has successively developed the “Pre-service Training Standards for Autism Rehabilitation Teachers,” the “IDEA Professional Talent Development System,” and the “Evaluation Standards for Rehabilitation Education of Children with Autism,” thereby continuously advancing the establishment of industry-wide standard systems.

From the perspective of the Enqi team, the digital era encompassing the entire industry and value chain has arrived, necessitating a new management architecture as its core hub: the “middle platform.” A key strategic objective of Enqi is to support the joint growth and development of third- and fourth-tier institutions by helping small and medium-sized organizations build their own intelligent data middle platforms. With the goal of “building a smart brain for the industry and affected children,” Enqi provides end-to-end training services, child-centric data and business middle platforms, online and offline services during the critical early intervention period for each child through data-driven approaches, as well as a comprehensive technical framework for data security and privacy protection.

In terms of data assets, Enqi holds the globally renowned, exclusively licensed VB-MAPP assessment system and has established China’s largest rehabilitation and education database for children with autism. It has set up IDEA offline teaching and research bases and operates a chain of directly managed IDEA rehabilitation centers, providing precise one-on-one services to each family. Enqi has completed the development of a full-process data recording and tracking system for pediatric rehabilitation. This system documents the entire rehabilitation process for children both at institutions and at home, laying a data foundation and accumulating insights for future personalized rehabilitation. To date, it has collected data from 17,000 children with autism.

Since its market entry via online rehabilitation education, Enqi has established a chain of directly operated offline rehabilitation centers, teaching and research bases, and teacher training programs. By securing top-tier industry talent and developing advanced pedagogical research and curriculum systems, Enqi ensures high-quality service delivery and a strong reputation. The company has provided rehabilitation services to tens of thousands of children with disabilities and offered courses and guidance to parents, teachers, and institutions across China. This comprehensive, full-industry-chain layout has strengthened its influence and user stickiness, creating an integrated ecosystem for autism rehabilitation services.

To date, the epidemic in China has been brought under control, work resumption is gradually underway, and industries that have weathered the “baptism” of the epidemic have set sail anew. We believe new surprises lie ahead.