Autism Spectrum Disorders in Africa: Current Challenges in Identification, Assessment, and Treatment

Abstract

Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has increased over recent years, however, little is known about the identification and management of autism spectrum disorder in Africa. This report summarizes a workshop on autism spectrum disorder in Africa under the auspices of the International Child Neurology Association and the African Child Neurology Association through guided presentations and working group reports, focusing on identification, diagnosis, management, and community support. A total of 47 delegates participated from 14 African countries. Although there was a huge variability in services across the countries represented, numbers of specialists assessing and managing autism spectrum disorder was small relative to populations served. Strategies were proposed to improve identification, diagnosis, management and support delivery for individuals with autism spectrum disorder across Africa in these culturally diverse, low-resource settings. Emphasis on raising public awareness through community engagement and improving access to information and training in autism spectrum disorder. Special considerations for the cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic factors within Africa are discussed.

A Systematic Review of Research on Autism Spectrum Disorders in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…The lack of literature from other parts of Africa may be due to several factors. First, there may be a lack of expertise in other African countries; for instance, a recent conference report does document the large difference in number of qualified psychologists and psychiatrists in South Africa compared to other countries that had representatives [61]. Second, this may arise from the lack of resources to carry out research in this area.…”

“…Our research indicates that they are very few tools that have been validated for the African context. The use of tools from other continents does provide challenges for various reasons including methodological and resource availability [15, 61]. These challenges are the impetus towards the development and validation of tools in the African context.…”

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Cultural and Contextual Factors on Autism Across the Globe

“…To monitor developmental concerns, or to more specifically screen for autism, the development of culturally appropriate surveillance, screening and diagnostic tools is vital. Late or no diagnosis disadvantages individuals with ASD in distinct cultural or socioeconomic settings, and bars them from effective early intervention or educational support (Bakare & Munir, 2011;Bello-Mojeed, Omigbodun, Bakare, & Adewuya, 2017;Montiel-Nava, Chacín, & González-Ávila, 2017;Ruparelia et al, 2016). Moreover, little is known about the cultural and contextual adaptations required to make interventions feasible, acceptable and effective across low-resource settings (Al Maskari, Melville, & Willis, 2018;Franz, Chambers, von Isenburg, & de Vries, 2017;Guler, de Vries, Seris, Shabalala, & Franz, 2017).…”

Nigerian Teachers’ Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparative Study of Teachers from Urban and Rural areas of Lagos State

“…However, in other areas where less research has been undertaken, information regarding ASD can be partial and fragmented. Significant challenges are faced regarding assessment, identification and appropriate treatment across Sub-Saharan Africa in general (Bakare and Munir, 2011a;Ruparelia et al, 2016) and within Nigeria in particular.…”