Dozens of parents have taken the autistic children to Shanghai Changfeng Ocean World to play with the beluga whales after hearing the mammals helped a boy with the disease learn to speak.

A couple said their child began to speak simple words after playing with the belugas several times.

"The parents requested the beluga trainer let their child play with the belugas after a performance, as they heard that belugas' ultrasonic waves can stimulate the brain of autistic children, and the trainer agreed,"said Cao Huizhi, a manager at Changfeng Ocean World.

The news quickly spread among parents, and the company agreed to accept two children to touch or feed the belugas for half an hour every weekday afternoon.

Ten children have been signed up to take part in the "treatment" once a week, and more than 60 children are on the waiting list. Many other parents continue to call the Ocean World to see if they can join the program.

"My daughter Yi Yi has begun to utter more sounds, as if she were talking to herself at home, after I brought her here six times," said a mother, surnamed Fan. "At first, she was very afraid to be near the water, but now she dares to touch the beluga."

"We'd like to try every means to help my son Chen Chen, and when I heard about the successful case, I brought my son here," said another mother surnamed Yao, who came to Shanghai from Jiangsu Province just to let her son play with the whales.

Ji Yong, a beluga trainer, said that when he was working in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, he first helped treat children with cerebral paralysis, and later autistic children for nearly two years.

"They improved more or less, but the effectiveness changes from case to case," Ji said. "I have to work together with the parents to get to know their children's situation, and work together step by step."

(Shanghai Daily November 10, 2005)