Health experts say India faces a dearth of doctors to treat autism which is slowly rising, with the illness being considered wrongly by many as mental retardation.
Autism Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prognosis
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder typically characterized by impaired social and communication skills combined with repetitive movements.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder typically characterized by impaired social and communication skills combined with repetitive movements.
"It may not be wrong to say that there are only a handful of doctors in our country who can provide the right treatment for autism.
"Now with the cases of autism on the rise the need for experts is being acutely felt," Arun Mukherjee, director of Udaan - a centre for the disabled, told IANS.
Quiz on Autism
Autism spectrum disorder is a complex genetic disorder that impairs social, behavioral, and communication functions in humans. Autistic people may act, communicate, interact, and learn differently than most other people. ASD usually begins in childhood and can last for the rest of a person's life, though symptoms may improve over time
Autism spectrum disorder is a complex genetic disorder that impairs social, behavioral, and communication functions in humans. Autistic people may act, communicate, interact, and learn differently than most other people. ASD usually begins in childhood and can last for the rest of a person's life, though symptoms may improve over time
"A lot needs to be done in smaller towns," Mukherjee added.
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Autistic individuals exhibit behaviours like spinning, flapping of hands, talking to themselves, constant jumping, attention deficit and hyperactivity.
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The same gene family that may have helped the human brain become larger and more complex than in any other animal also is linked to the severity of autism.
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"For most of them, it is still a mental illness and that perception has to change. Due to this lack of awareness, parents do not consider it to be important enough for diagnosis," Verma told IANS.
Tamana is a special school established in 2003 that caters to autistic children.
Samir Parikh, director, mental health and behavioural sciences at Fortis Hospital, said: "The treatment for autism is a multi-disciplinary approach. There is a wide spectrum and children fall in various ranges. So the treatment varies depending on the level of sickness."
Being a disorder affecting the brain, autism severely affects speech, language, communication and social interaction. Hence there are two major therapies for autistic individuals -- speech and occupational therapy.
"A person who has autism often has trouble communicating and interacting with other people; his or her interests, activities, and play skills may be limited. While occupational therapy helps develop these skills, speech therapy can help address a wide range of communication problems," Parikh told IANS.
Though, there are treatments for the disorder, for Indian parents getting an accurate diagnosis also pose a hurdle.
Surabhi Verma, director, Sparsh for Children said: "It is only speech delay because of which parents visit paediatricians, where most of the time they assume that the kids are just slow.
"Diagnosing autism becomes a long drawn process and such delays tend to affect treatment process," Verma told IANS.
Sparsh trains autistic children and even those with other disability to help them become part of mainstream schools.
Experts said that if right therapy for autism is made available early, a child can develop skills better.
"A two-year old child will be able to learn faster. While after three years the learning process takes longer and extra attention as well," said Verma.
Experts said that the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, does not include autism, but the government plans to cover the condition in the revised act, which has lapsed in parliament.
Autism is now covered under the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.
"Just adding autism to the Disability Bill is not enough. Government needs to devise new curriculum and start specialisation courses so that the country gets more experts to treat autism," added Mukherjee.
Source-IANS
