Scoping Review of Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries

Abstract

Although an increased number of autism interventions have been introduced from high-income countries (HICs) to low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), research exists to show that interventions validated as effective in HICs are not equally effective in LMICs. The lack of an overview of autism interventions from LMICs presents a knowledge barrier to well-informed implementation of autism interventions in LMICs’ contexts. This scoping review sought to answer: (a) what autism interventions have been reported in LMICs? and (b) how those interventions were adopted to tailor LMICs’ contexts? Twenty intervention studies were included for review. Results revealed that 12 of 20 interventions were originally developed in HICs. The interventions reported across LMICs presented a recognizable profile similar to those in HICs concerning (a) the dominance of mothers’ involvement in parent-implemented interventions, (b) a preponderance of social communication and behavioral interventions, and (c) the use of prevalent standardized measures developed in the HICs. The included interventions were delivered across Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe with various degrees of adaptions made in (a) intervention content and context, (b) assessment of participant eligibility, and (c) outcome measures. Implications for capacity building in autism interventions across LMICs, were discussed thereafter.