Boy discovered with speech problems after isolated

An 8-year-old boy in Sichuan province is unable to speak clearly and runs away at the sight of people after receiving little education and living with only his grandmother in a mountainous village.

Long Long has resided in Yongquan since his birth. When he was two, his father fell from the roof of their house trying to replace broken tiles. Too poor to pay for medical treatment, he died from his wounds. Long Long's mother consequently left.

The boy attended kindergarten for two years and primary school for one semester, but dropped out shortly thereafter because he was unable to pay for the tuition, said Long Long's 82-year-old grandmother Li Shiqing in an interview with Deyang Evening News, a local newspaper.

After many of the village's residents relocated to low-lying areas, Long Long and his grandmother lived without much interaction in their ramshackle house, which has no access to running water or electricity.

Long Long and their grandmother go to bed when night falls and they only have a little dog to keep them company. The boy is afraid at the sight of occasional visitors and often runs away.

A volunteer from Deyang, which has jurisdiction over the village, recently came to help Long Long and his grandmother and discovered that the boy has speech problems, according to Deyang Evening News. The volunteer intends to create more outside interaction for Long Long, the newspaper said.