Children sing at launching ceremony for the Vietnamese version of Japanese manga With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child. — Photo tuoitre.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — A prize-winning manga on autism by Japanese author Keiko Tobe has just been released in Vietnamese by Kim Dong Publishing House.

Entitled Di Cung Anh Sang (With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child), the manga is a poignant and heartwarming story of a young mother attempting to cope with an increasingly common affliction.

With the Light has been universally recognised for its sensitive portrayal of autism, and has won an "excellence prize" for manga at the eighth annual Japan Media Arts Festival.

The manga not only reflects the daily routines of a family with an autistic kid, but also provides information about autism and methods of early treatment for autistic children.

Born at sunrise — an auspicious beginning — the Azumas' newborn son is named Hikaru, which means "light". During one play date, his mother notices that her son is slightly different from the other children. In the heartwarming as well as bittersweet tale, the young mother tries to cope with both the overwhelming discovery of her child's autism and the trials involved in raising him, while keeping her family together.

"The book is a highly recommended one for educating the community about autism," Minh Hieu, a representative of the autistic people network in Viet Nam, said. "More people reading the book will understand and sympathise with people with autism and help to establish a society friendlier to people with autism in the near future."

The publishing house will launch the 15-volume collection in three phases, with five volumes being released each time.— VNS