Logo image
Back
Experiences and Attitudes on Early Identification Practices of Autism: A Preliminary Survey of Pediatric Professionals in Ecuador
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Experiences and Attitudes on Early Identification Practices of Autism: A Preliminary Survey of Pediatric Professionals in Ecuador

Paulina Buffle, Alfredo Naranjo, Edouard Gentaz and Giacomo Vivanti
Children (Basel), v 9(2)
01 Feb 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020123
PMID: 35204844
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.3390/children9020123View
Published, Version of Record (VoR)CC BY V4.0,  Open

Abstract

Life Sciences & Biomedicine Pediatrics Science & Technology
Early identification of children with autism is necessary to support their social and communicative skills and cognitive, verbal, and adaptive development. Researchers have identified several barriers to early diagnosis. Data collected in low- and middle-income contexts-where the vast majority of children in the world live-is scarce. In Ecuador, as in many other countries, estimates are lower compared to the global prevalence. Health authorities estimate a prevalence of 0.28% (0.18%-0.41%) in children aged five years old or less. Based on the hypothesis that, as in many parts of the world, children in Ecuador are not routinely screened and that this situation may result from poor recognition of this condition, our objective was to identify potential obstacles to case identification in pediatric settings. Several barriers, consistent with those identified in other countries, were reported by 153 participants on a survey, including lack of time, lack of resources to refer, fear of unnecessarily alarming families, and lack of information to guide families with concerns. The vast majority of participants are aware of the need for a screening tool for autism detection but report a lack of knowledge of its formal application. Most of the barriers reported in this study could be overcome by educational programs tailored to professional needs in order to support the well-being of children with autism and their families.

Metrics

3 Record Views
6 citations in Web of Science
6 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Pediatrics
Logo image