Topic: Prevalence of a disease, including new and preexisting cases, is ‘the proportion of individuals in a population who have a particular disease or attribute at a specified period of time’ (according to the CDC). It is exceedingly difficult to determine Autism prevalence as many dynamic conditions influence the calculations including unequal distribution of socio-economic resources, diverse cultures with unique views of disease and treatment, and meagre or non-existent meaningful instruments for identification and intervention in the population’s specific context. Each geopolitical region requires factoring these issues into their calculations, consequently, complex algorithms are employed when establishing prevalence data.
Value: Prevalence data are of utmost importance, especially in Autism, with mostly a lifetime impact and an evolving developmental trajectory and changing needs. This reality profoundly affects individuals, their families, and their communities. The data permit calculating risk of occurrence or number of new cases in a specified time, guide planning for resources and education for impacted individuals and support services for families, and establish professional training programs to provide essential services to autistic populations of any age.
Contributing authors and topics: In the following, a virtual tour around the globe, the IALP Autism Committee members highlight specific geopolitical regions with target populations to discuss Autism prevalence, challenges encountered, available resources and practices, and reveal their efficacy. In their review K. Petinou, M. Christopoulou (Cyprus) and I. Vogindroukas (Greece) discuss Autism prevalence in understudied areas: Malta, Cyprus, and Balkan regions including Bulgaria. Y. Hus (Canada) thematic review highlights Canadian indigenous peoples, representing geographically remote and economically vulnerable communities within an industrialized privileged region, with authorities ‘frozen’ in a colonial era in their approach to families with autistic loved ones. S. Adam’s (South Africa) article underscores the challenges of determining Autism prevalence in South Africa and Nigeria. K. Jensen de Lopez and H. Thirup Møller (Denmark) review focus is autism prevalence in 7-9 years old in Scandinavia: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and related regions: Finland, Iceland, and Greenland. N. Neubauer (USA New Jersey) reviews the Northeast USA Hispanic and Asian communities with a ‘heads-up’ to Speech Language Pathologists to be prepared to meet their dynamic needs. K.L. Johnson and A. Kristofik (USA Texas) tackle the Under-identified and Under-served Autistic Texan indigenous pediatric populations. O. Segal and S. Ferman (Israel) data compilation reviews prevalence, incidence, diagnosis, treatment, and educational opportunities for autistic individuals in the mosaic of the Israeli communities. C. Westby (USA New Mexico) and L. Cheng (USA California) review presents prevalence and services to ASD in Taiwan and Thailand representing a collective cultural perspective. Finally, C. Westby (USA New Mexico) and R. Roman (Bolivia; USA) review highlight two Latin countries, Paraguay where state agencies’ efforts are responsible for establishing services for autistic children, while a Bolivian family’s challenges to secure services for their affected child provides a ‘reality lens’ in these efforts.
Keywords:
• Autism
• Prevalence
• Geopolitical Variations
• Under-identified
• Underserved
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