Each and every parent desires to have a healthy growing child. Unfortunately there is increasing incidence of certain neurological disorders in children in the last decade. Autism is one of the important problems among these. The prevalence of Autistic spectrum disorder in 1980 was around 1 in 10000. The same prevalence is now estimated to be 1 in 200! It is the fastest growing developmental disability in the world. Approximately 67 million people worldwide are now affected by autism.
So what is autism? It is a group of complex disorders of brain development that presents with varying degrees of impairment in social interaction, communication with others and repetitive behavioral patterns. It occurs in all racial, ethnic and social groups and is four times more common in boys than girls. It is a spectrum disorder which means it manifests with a varying degree of severity and in different ways in different individuals. The symptoms are varied and children may be mildly affected or have severe disability. In recent years, even Bollywood has realized the importance of autism and how common it is. Shahrukh Khan's character in 'My name is Khan' and Priyanka Chopra's character in 'Barfi' were both shown to be affected with autism. Interestingly, both have been shown to have different forms of autism.
Read: Understanding autism its causes, symptoms and treatment
The disruption in normal brain development in autism is known to happen very early in life. There are multiple factors involved in being responsible as causative factors and genetics also plays a role. Autism can be diagnosed in many cases by 3 years of age by the subtle and not so subtle symptoms. Unfortunately in India the mean age of diagnosis is around 5 years of age! Early diagnosis ensures that corrective therapies can be instituted early.
Here is a list of some of the early symptoms that all parents should watch out for in their child-
The presence of any of the above symptoms should prompt parents to get a developmental assessment of their child to determine if their child's development is normal or not. Research has shown that early diagnosis and early institution of corrective therapies does improve the long term outcome in autism. And as we know 'Time and tide wait for no man!' Hence it is imperative that action is taken if any of the abnormal symptoms mentioned above are seen.
The month of April is celebrated worldwide as Autism Awareness month with 2nd April being Autism awareness day. To increase awareness about this condition MGM hospital, Vashi and Forum forAutism, Parent support group are planning a 'Walk for Autism awareness' on Sunday 14th April at 4.30 pm from MGM hospital to Shivaji Chowk in Vashi. I would like to invite all members of the public, especially all parents to participate in this awareness program to help spread awareness of this condition so that we can help the children affected by autism to integrate well in society.
Also read: 10 things every child with autism wishes you knew
