Better facilities, attitude led to rise in diagnosis of autism in state: Experts

From distributing questionnaires to parents – to understand the presence of symptoms in their children – to ensuring that children are screened for autism, its diagnosis and treatment have come a long way in the state. 

“The attitude of the people in Chennai is extremely different from that among doctors and experts in other metro cities, in that, Autism is seen with a holistic approach here,” said Vasudha Praksah, a special educator. 

“The autism centres in Chennai not only serve to help locals, as many parents from other states also bring their children to Chennai for assessment and second opinion,” she added. 

While it is certain that more numbers are now being clearly diagnosed, L V Jayashree, director of The Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu said, “The jury is still out as to what is the exact reason for the increase in diagnosis. It may be noted that now, many of us have a better clarity in the diagnostic criteria on how to go about diagnosing. Research is being carried out on it as well.”

With one in 68 people found to be autistic in our country (according to the Action for Autism, India) there is a great need to ensure that they are given the right facilities, she said. “Focussing on autism as a separate category under disability is important as we have seen, over the years, that their potential comes out much better when they are given the right facilities,” Jayashree added. 

At the Institute of Child Health (ICH), in the city, parents are given questionnaires as part of the screening process. “All children are screened for symptoms. Parents are asked to fill in questionnaires to identify if their children have symptoms of Autism. If the parents say that the child is unable to make certain indications at the age of 18 months, he may have problems with communication which is the main problem with autism, said former director of the hospital.