Introduction: The global prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is rising. However, the services related to autism are only slowly being developed in poor-resource nations. There is a need to understand the characteristics of autistic children in order to develop individualized, evidence-based interventions. This study aims to analyze the sociodemographic profile and initial clinical presentations of autistic children in the northern part of Sri Lanka and determine the differences in these factors between this region and the rest of the country and the globe. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study in a center for neuro-developmental disorders in Northern Sri Lanka analyzed data extracted from clinical records of 123 autistic children using a predesigned data extraction form. Descriptive analyses and chi-square tests were performed using RStudio. Results: Among the 123 children, 71.5% were males. The mean age of diagnosis was 3.4 years. Most children (69.9%) had mild to moderate symptoms of autism. At the time of presentation, all children had speech-related complaints, while behavioral issues, poor social interaction, and sensory issues were reported in 91.9%, 96.7%, and 78% respectively. Social stigma was found to be the prime challenge faced by caregivers. Conclusion: The findings show that speech and language-related problems are universal among autistic children in this region, while behavioral issues, poor social interaction, and sensory issues are highly prevalent. Further, this study highlights the need for community awareness through the primary healthcare system to address delays in detecting red-flag signs of autism by parents and seeking professional help.

Introduction:The rising proportion of the elderly is increasingly affected by non-communicable diseases. Despite an abundance of literature suggesting that elders with medical conditions are more vulnerable to depression, disability, and cognitive impairment, these tend to go unnoticed and unaddressed. This study describes the prevalence and correlates of depression, disability, and cognitive impairment among elders with medical illnesses attending follow-up clinics in a tertiary care hospital in northern Sri Lanka.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 122 elders (≥60 years) attending medical clinics at Teaching Hospital Jaffna. Depression, disability, and cognitive impairment were assessed by the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, 12-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment, respectively. Student's T-Test, ANOVA, and correlation coefficient were used in analyzing data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences 25 (SPSS-v25) (IBM, New York, United States).Results: The mean age of the participants was 68.3 years (SD=5.70); 58 (47.5%) were males and 64 (52.5%) were females. Prevalence of depression was 44.3% (95% CI=35.5-53.1), while disability was 95.9% (95% CI=92.4-99.4) and cognitive impairment was 80.3% (95% CI=73.2-87.4). Depression was significantly associated with gender (p=0.013), marital status (p=0.019), and living arrangement (p<0.001). Cognitive impairment was significantly associated with education level (p=0.045), and disability was associated with education level (p=0.008) and marital status (p=0.027). Among the study participants, only 12 (9.8%) had previously sought professional help for depression, disability, or cognitive impairment.Conclusion: Depression, disability, and cognitive impairment are common among the elderly attending medical clinics in Teaching Hospital Jaffna, and are, in most cases, unaddressed.

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