SINGAPORE, Nov. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Two new early intervention centers for autistic infants and children will open in Singapore early next year, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan said at a conference on autism on Tuesday.

    The government will train at least 10 percent of its national school teachers to work with children with autism by 2010, according to the minister.

    "Singapore has made good progress in equipping many parents and professionals with the right knowledge, intervention skills and expertise in autism," Balakrishnan said, adding that the government will continue to support the training needs of people dealing with autism.

    Last week, the Ministry of Education said that a special school for adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18 with moderate to severe autism will begin operations in January next year.

    Autism is a brain disorder that typically affects a person's ability to communicate, form relationships with others, and respond appropriately to the environment.

    The Singapore Autism Resource Center estimates that some 24,000Singaporeans out of the total population of 4 million are autistic, of which about 5,472 are children under the age of 19, and 216 new cases of children with autism are diagnosed annually. Enditem