A University of Birmingham autism expert will illustrate how ground-breaking work in Britain could help improve life for millions of Chinese children.

Ryan Bradley will introduce a prestigious international conference in Beijing to an innovative project in Oxfordshire, which could hold the key to unlocking the solution to problems of autistic children in China.

He will address the Second China Autism Rehabilitation Forum on how best practice guidance developed through the University’s evaluation of the project, could help to tackle autism in China.

The University’s Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) has played a key role in developing the Early Years Autism Project in Oxfordshire, which helps meet the needs of early years children with autism.

Mr Bradley, an ACER research fellow, said: “This is a great opportunity for the University of Birmingham to continue our work with health professionals in China and highlight ways in which our research can benefit millions of Chinese children with autism.

“I was delighted to be invited to speak at the conference and hope that our research will help children in China. I’ll be talking about how a robust evidence-based framework can help to assess, understand and meet the needs of children with autism.”

The University of Birmingham and Beijing GTOG Education Science and Technology Ltd signed an agreement on autism education in August 2015.

Mr Bradley’s invitation to speak at the event follows a visit to GTOG and related institutions in Beijing China in November 2015. This saw him and Dr Guldberg advise experts how the English model could help Chinese children with autism. As strategic partners in China, GTOG and the University of Birmingham are working together to help more and more autism children in China.

Oxfordshire County Council’s Early Years Autism Project uses a model known as SCERTS (Social Communication Educational Regulation and Transactional Support) to help autistic children and their families cope with the condition.

Dr Guldberg led on evaluating the 18-month project, using ‘action research’ to produce guidelines for best practice. By applying specific research to situations and problems found in the project, her team was able to develop best practice which could now be used in China.