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Research
A Pilot Study on Autism Spectrum Disorders in Mali: Parental Concerns About Child Developmental Milestones and Late Diagnostic Age
Modibo Sangare
USTTB
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7519-918X
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background
In Mali, the health facility-based prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Mali was 4.5% (105/2,343) and the age of first medical visit for autistic children was around 7 years old in 2018. Parental recognition of developmental abnormalities initiates the early autism detection and diagnosis. We aimed to assess the feasibility of a main study to associate parental concerns with early first medical visits and subsequent ASD diagnostic in Mali.
Methods
We conducted a pilot study from November 2017 to July 2019. We surveyed 57 parents of autistic children aged 3-14 years old.
Results
Parents were concerned over verbal communication in 54.1% and reciprocal social interaction in 43.8%. Children with ASD had their first medical visit after 18 months old in 66.7%, ≥ two medical visits in 87.7%, and were identified after 36 months old in 76.8%.
Conclusion
Parental concerns were not significantly associated with early first medical visit and ASD identification. This pilot study will help in the design of larger studies on the same topic in Mali.
Keywords
Autism, pilot study, parental concerns, early screening, developmental milestones, Mali
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This is a preprint. It has not completed peer review.
Research
A Pilot Study on Autism Spectrum Disorders in Mali: Parental Concerns About Child Developmental Milestones and Late Diagnostic Age
Modibo Sangare
USTTB
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7519-918X
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
History
CURRENT STATUS: Posted
Version 1
Posted 13 Jan, 2021
No community comments so far
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Internal Medicine
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Background
In Mali, the health facility-based prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Mali was 4.5% (105/2,343) and the age of first medical visit for autistic children was around 7 years old in 2018. Parental recognition of developmental abnormalities initiates the early autism detection and diagnosis. We aimed to assess the feasibility of a main study to associate parental concerns with early first medical visits and subsequent ASD diagnostic in Mali.
Methods
We conducted a pilot study from November 2017 to July 2019. We surveyed 57 parents of autistic children aged 3-14 years old.
Results
Parents were concerned over verbal communication in 54.1% and reciprocal social interaction in 43.8%. Children with ASD had their first medical visit after 18 months old in 66.7%, ≥ two medical visits in 87.7%, and were identified after 36 months old in 76.8%.
Conclusion
Parental concerns were not significantly associated with early first medical visit and ASD identification. This pilot study will help in the design of larger studies on the same topic in Mali.