This photo taken in March 2023 shows an autistic child taking a class at the Little Turtle children's services center in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua)

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Over the 18 years since its establishment, the institution has expanded from a small classroom with just three teachers and five children to a centre with 54 teachers capable of helping more than 300 children each year.

Teachers take the children to farms, theatres and playgrounds, allowing them to try their hand at activities such as making soybean milk, picking fruit, feeding animals and riding horses.

Sun still remembers the despair she saw in the eyes of parents of autistic children back in the 2000s, when there were few specialized institutions to help them. Having trained as an educator, she brought two other teachers to Beijing to study before they established the first educational centre for children with autism in Shenyang.

Lao PDR - Day of Disability!

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This is just one of many paths to progress. Around the world, persons with disabilities are leading the way in identifying innovative solutions that break down barriers and create a more accessible world. That advances equality for everyone.

On this International Day for Persons with Disabilities, let us join forces in making it easier for persons with disabilities to share their experiences and knowledge and to influence decisions that impact their lives.

Let us work together to build societies that are more inclusive – to the benefit of persons with disabilities and the benefit of us all.