Autism spectrum disorder among kids is 2.25 per 1000, says GMCH survey

THE PREVALENCE of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children is 2.25 per 1000 children in the city, revealed a survey conducted by Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.

ASD is a serious neuro-developmental disorder, which affects a child’s ability to communicate and interact with others.

The study, which has been published in a neurology journal now, was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

According to doctors who were part of the study, the survey aimed at finding the prevailing estimate of ASD in Chandigarh.

The report said a total of 8,438 children between one-and-half and 10 years were screened using the Chandigarh Autism Screening Instrument (CASI). The survey found that 19 children had been diagnosed with ASD, two had been shifted to other places and 30 were assessed in detail.

“As many as 26,848 houses were visited during the survey. While the parents of 145 children refused to take part in the study, parents of 236 children could not be contacted despite making three visits to their house and hence were dropped out,” the study report said.

It states that this rate of prevalence is close to that in other Indian studies.

Dr B S Chavan, head of the Department of Psychiatry, GMCH, and also co-author of the survey report, on Wednesday said, “It took the institute around three years to complete the project.”

The survey began in 2015 after ICMR approved the GMCH project the same year to find the prevalence of autism among children in the city.

Doctors said the proposal was sent to ICMR because no survey to know the prevalence of ASD among children in Chandigarh had ever been carried out and there had been an increase in the number of new cases of autism coming to GMCH from the neighbouring states.

GMCH has been running a weekly autism clinic at the institute. The number of cases coming to the clinic has of late increased, said doctors. At least eight new cases come to the institute every month.

Dr Priti Arun of the Department of Psychiatry, GMCH-32, and principal investigator of the survey, had earlier told Chandigarh Newsline that it was for the first time that such a study had been carried out in the city.