Autism Spectrum Disorders in Africa: Current Challenges in Identification, Assessment, and Treatment: A Report on the International Child Neurology Association Meeting on ASD in Africa, Ghana, April 3-5, 2014.
Kavita Ruparelia, Amina Abubakar, Eben Badoe, Muideen Bakare, Karren Visser, Diane C Chugani, Harry T Chugani, Kirsten A Donald, Jo M Wilmshurst, Andy Shih, David Skuse, Charles R Newton
Author Information
Kavita Ruparelia: Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom and Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Amina Abubakar: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Program, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research (Coast), Nairobi, Kenya Department of Culture Studies, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
Eben Badoe: Department of Child Health, University of Ghana Medical School, Accra, Ghana.
Muideen Bakare: Child and Adolescent Unit, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, New Haven, Enugu, Nigeria.
Karren Visser: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Program, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research (Coast), Nairobi, Kenya.
Diane C Chugani: Wayne State University School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI, USA.
Harry T Chugani: Wayne State University School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI, USA.
Kirsten A Donald: Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa kirsty.donald@uct.ac.za.
Jo M Wilmshurst: Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Andy Shih: Autism Speaks, New York, NY, USA.
David Skuse: Behavioural and Brain Sciences, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.
Charles R Newton: KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Program, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research (Coast), Nairobi, Kenya Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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.
