Autism in Africa

Mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Even more troubling: Four out of five people with psychiatric disorders live in developing countries, where they have few opportunities for treatment.That's certainly the case for autism in Africa, though, like in other resource-poor areas of the world, awareness is beginning to improve. In the past few years, a handful of researchers in various African countries have investigated children with autism. A new review of these reports finds that these children tend to be diagnosed much later than their counterparts in the U.S., and are more likely to be nonverbal.The review, published in the December issue of the South African Journal of Psychiatry, analyzes six studies: three from Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, and one each from Tunisia, Tanzania and Kenya.Read more at...SFARI, February 2012.