Author : Pratibha Singhi
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (116 download)
Book Synopsis 06 - Age at Diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Does it Differ by Place of Residence? by : Pratibha Singhi
Download or read book 06 - Age at Diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Does it Differ by Place of Residence? written by Pratibha Singhi and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Objective: To examine rural/urban disparities in the recognition of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in children from the case records of a tertiary care hospital in India.Background and aims: Few researchers have examined differences in age at diagnosis by residence, especially from the developing countries.Methodology: The case records of children diagnosed with ASD maintained at the Pediatric Psychology Clinic of the Department of Pediatrics of a tertiary care teaching hospital in North India were reviewed. Information regarding the demographic, socio-economic variables, clinical profile, and cognitive and developmental assessment for each child and family was extracted from the case records. Age at diagnosis was compared by place of residence of the parents. Results: A total of 1248 case records were examined (Age range 15 months to 13 years, Rural= 28%). The mean age at diagnosis was 4.63 (SD= 2.38). Although, age at diagnosis consistently declined by year of birth (P= .001) for both rural and urban children, rural children were diagnosed at 4.98 yrs, nearly 0.48 years later than urban children (t= 3.14, P= .023). Later age at diagnosis for children from rural areas underscores the limited access and utilization of specialty health care services available for families from underserved areas.Conclusions: Significant disparities exist in the age at diagnosis of children with ASD and children from rural areas are missing crucial opportunities to benefit from intervention services. There is need to identify strategies that may lead to timely diagnosis of children with ASD from underserved communities in India.