Autism in Africa: Community Perception, Implication for Social Development and Learning in Childhood

Background:

The paucity of data on Autism Spectrum Disorder in Africa has lead erroneously to the thought that the disorder is uncommon in Africans and may be a problem of the western population. Hence, only severe cases with marked disruption in behavior are viewed as a disorder in Africa, with milder cases probably considered as normal.

Objectives:  The emerging interest in the field of Autism in Africa provides an excellent opportunity to review the community perception of the disorder; it’s implication for social development and learning in childhood.

Methods:  Existing literatures in Africa on community perception of ASD were reviewed.

Results: The age of onset of Autism in Africa tends to coincide with the period of vulnerability to other physical ailments with neurological complications under the age of five years. Hence, high co-morbidity of other neurological complications in cases seen in Africa. There are no known local words to express Autism in most African languages and the disorder is still being considered to be of supernatural causations. This further encourages stigma to the family members which results in late presentation. Review of previous studies in Nigeria shows that among health workers, a small percentage views autism as treatable while few others see it as being preventable. Community perception of autism in Africa has a wide range of implications which include; poor understanding of the disorder, increased stigmatization, social exclusion and lack of appropriate policies by the authorities to improve care and promote community inclusion.

Conclusions:  Increased awareness about the disorder would promote early detection, reduced stigma and promote social inclusion.