(Nov 28) It broke Mrs Cindy Wang's heart the first time she saw her child lagging behind his classmates as they scrambled down the stairs at dismissal time in school.

Her son, Ron, seven, is in a mainstream school in Primary 1 this year, although he has been diagnosed as mildly autistic.

'I saw all these children running down excitedly and there was my son struggling down the stairs way behind them,' says Mrs Wang, 39, who has another son aged 12.

According to her, Ron started babbling normally when he was about nine months old.

But after he turned one, he would just whine and cry when he wanted attention.

When he still hadn't started talking at the age of two, a worried Mrs Wang sought medical attention for her son.

He was diagnosed with mild autism. But because of a long waiting list, Ron got to see a speech therapist only when he was three years old.

Apart from his speech problem, Mrs Wang also noticed that Ron had poor motor skills. He was clumsy in his movements and had problems navigating the stairs. He couldn't catch or bounce a ball.

In school, he had problems writing. Earlier this year, he could barely write individual words, let alone sentences.

Mrs Wang quit her full-time job as a sales coordinator after Ron was diagnosed with autism, and now runs an online business from home.

She frequently surfs the Internet to find out more about her child's condition. And that was how she learnt about the exercise programme at KK Hospital and enrolled Ron in it.

She says he looks forward eagerly to his weekly exercise session there and she's very pleased with the progress he has made since he joined the programme in September.

"Now, if you throw him a ball, he can catch it,' says Mrs Wang. 'He can bounce and control a ball the way you do in basketball. And he loves it. He is able to walk faster and more steadily than before.

'Even his handwriting has improved. Now, he can write short sentences!'

She knows that he still has some way to go but is happy that he is enjoying himself and making progress.

Mother and son even diligently do the 'homework' which the trainer gives.

He is now working on strengthening Ron's thigh muscles. This involves 'hopping' exercises.

'At home, I make Ron hop from room to room 30 to 40 times a day,' said Mrs Wang. 'I make it into a game and he thinks it's fun!"