Journalism of Courage
April 2 has been recognised by the UN as World Autism Awareness Day,but the Indian government still doesnt recognise the disease as a disability
On December 18,2007 the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 62/139,declaring April 2 to be celebrated as World Autism Awareness Day. This UN Resolution is one of few official diseases or disorder-specific United Nations Days and will bring the worlds attention to autism,a pervasive disorder that affects tens of millions. It expresses a deep concern at the prevalence and high rate of autism in children in all regions of the world and the consequent developmental challenges.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) or Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) are characterized by varying levels of limitations in social behaviour and communication (making eye contact,language development,emotional maturity,empathizing with others,and so on) as well as rituals and stereotypes (behaviours that are repetitive like hand-flapping but don’t seem to serve any function).
Early estimates of ASD were 10 in 10,000 but recently estimates range from 1 in 70 – 110 births (US). In India,however,the figures are still inconclusive. Even the current census did not recognize autism as a disability. Although there is a variance in these figures,it cannot be ignored that this figure has increased over time. Several reasons have been hypothesized for this increase,including changing diagnostic criteria over the years,better awareness,over-diagnosis to misdiagnosis.
Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child’s life. The signs usually develop gradually,though some children initially show typical development and then regress. Early behavioural or cognitive intervention can help children with autism gain self-care,social,and communication skills. Although there is no known cure,there have been reported cases of children who have recovered. This highlights the urgent need for a mandatory screening of all children at the age of 18 months. The clinical definition of ASD relies on behavioural observations and cognitive phenotypes without the supplementary help of laboratory tests,neuroimaging results (fMRI),or biochemical markers.
While the disorder is not rare,a majority of people in India,who fall on this spectrum,have not been diagnosed and do not receive the services they need. There is a tremendous lack of awareness and misunderstanding about autism among medical professionals,who may either misdiagnose or under diagnose the condition.
