KUALA LUMPUR: Around one in 100 children have autism, also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), according to the World Health Organisation.

Awareness on this neurodevelopmental condition has grown in recent years, including in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, leading to earlier identification and diagnosis.

Jochebed Isaacs, Director of Early Autism Project (EAP) Malaysia, noted that 16 years ago, parents used to bring their children in for diagnosis when they were around six or seven years old.

“Now we’re seeing children that are 20 months old, two years old and sometimes even 18 months old, coming for a diagnosis.

“This means that awareness is so much more that young parents are immediately bringing their children in the minute they spot any red flags,” she told Astro AWANI on It’s About YOUth.

However, she said there was still room for improvement in terms of improving access to good quality services and support for varying income levels.

For Wenanita Angang, who is Miss World Malaysia and an autism advocate, there should be more efforts to promote acceptance and inclusion of individuals on the spectrum to ensure they could lead fulfilling lives.

She added that limited knowledge on the importance of early diagnosis still persisted in rural areas of certain states such as Sabah.

“Within my community in Sabah, most children that are autistic are just considered naughty and punished,” she said.

On top of the issue of accessibility to services, there was a lack of specialists to care for those on the spectrum, she added.

“For example, Hospital Mesra Bukit Padang is the only psychiatric hospital in Sabah. This means they will have to segregate their manpower to each district.

“It could take up to two months for a child to receive services, if they are even diagnosed.”

Closing the gap: Making our spaces more inclusive

One way to address the disparities in access to support services, said Jochebed, was to equip households with the ability to act as therapists for their own children.

EAP’s non-profit arm, The Hope Project, had launched the Autism at Home site in 2020 as an online resource platform to provide simplified strategies for families of children on the spectrum to teach and support them at home.

Jochebed also said having better quality education within school systems could help maximise a child’s learning potential.

She explained that it was important to include those with special needs in mainstream classes and school events, rather than segregating them into their own special events.

“It’s also good for the rest of the class (to learn) to be more tolerant, kind and compassionate.”

Wenanita added that public spaces such as shopping malls could consider incorporating “calming rooms” to assist individuals with autism who may experience sensory overload.

“Sometimes it gets a bit too loud and the child just needs a private spot for a few minutes to calm down, before they can integrate back into the community,”  she said.