The pledge came on Monday at the first South Asian Autism Network’s (SAAN) meeting in New Delhi.
“During the conference, the Indian government promised to ask the Medical Council of India (MCI) to henceforth ensure that undergraduate and postgraduate medical curriculums in India include the study of autism,” said a media release.
The neurodevelopment disorder received global attention in recent years when a study indicated that millions of children worldwide were suffering the problem in silence, without much of an understanding about it.
Once incorporated in India’s medical curriculum, analysts say, autism research would receive a boost in this region as many other countries may follow the suit.
Autistic children enjoy the Autism Fair organised by Parents Forum for Differently Able at Gulshan Wonderland in the capital on Monday. Photo: asaduzzaman pramanik/ bdnews24.com/ Dhaka, Apr 02, 2012
The Network of eight countries, SAAN, was formed during the first-ever regional conference on autism in Dhaka in July 2011 for better regional partnership on the disorder.
India’s Congress Party Chief Sonia Gandhi and Bangladesh’s premier Sheikh Hasina addressed the Dhaka conference, among others regional leaders.
Addressing the meeting on Monday, Sonia Gandhi called for the urgent need to improve policy on autism.
“In India alone, we probably have over 8 million children with autism spectrum disorder. The formulation of public policy has not kept pace with the problem,”she was quoted in the media release.
She also said mothers of the children with autism and other development disorders “suffer tremendously when they think about the future of their children.”
The government representatives of all SAAN member countries –India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste attended the meeting.
Michael Rosanoff, Associate Director of Research at Autism Speaks that supports the SAAN initiative, said their efforts in South Asia were focused on “encouraging public-private partnership in addressing autism spectrum disorder and empowering both parents and professionals.”
“We have worked on translating diagnostic tools, conducting studies on prevalence, and training care providers. These efforts combined will help improve the lives of those with ASD in India and beyond.”
The United Nations General Assembly in Dec 2012 adopted a resolution that calls the governments to invest in the wellbeing of persons withautism and other developmental disorders.
It also calls to collaborate on regional and international levels to improve and sustain access to healthcare, education, training and support programs.
The SAAN members are committed to raise public and professional awareness of autism, provide resources for parents and professionals,and collect public health data to understand the burden of the disorder.
They are also committed to conduct professional training in the areas of evidence based services to meet the needs of persons with autism,encourage research and promote inter-country sharing of data resources and expertise.
There is no national statistics on how many people are living with autism in Bangladesh, but estimates put the number 8 per 1000 people.