Autism Numbers in Malaysia
The Star (Malaysia) notes that 1 in 625 Malaysian children is autistic, which would be a much lower prevalence rate than the 1 in 150 figure among children in the US. But some think otherwise:
If this were to be taken as a standard in Malaysia, there would be more than 3,000 new cases each year nationwide.
Said [National Autism Society of Malaysia (Nasom) chairman Teh Beng Choon]: “The question is how different are we in Malaysia from the US? That’s a pretty scary number. Everyone should be concerned.”
Dr Hasnah Toran, a senior lecturer in Early Intervention, Autism and Assessment from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Education Faculty, believed the situation in Malaysia is closer to that of the US as revealed by the recent research.
“There are various problems with the survey conducted in Malaysia (which said that one in 625 Malaysian children is autistic). For one, it was only conducted in Perak [one of the 13 states of Malaysia]. That represents only the tip of an iceberg in relation to the birth rate around the country. I’m not convinced (of the figures) because each time I walk into a school, I can see some students displaying autistic symptoms,” she said.
Suggests the difference that awareness and understanding of autism can make, wherever in the world you are.
Tags: asd, Asia, asperger, autism, children, Diagnosis, Family, malaysia, parents, pdd-nos, perakRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Asia, Diagnosis, Statistics
5 opinions for Autism Numbers in Malaysia
M
Apr 27, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Don’t let David Kirby hear about this. He’ll posit the existence of an airborne, transmitochondrial neuro-intestinal pandemic. (One the CDC has been secretly engineering for years). Insidious.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Apr 27, 2008 at 3:53 pm
And fumes wafting somehow from China.
Joseph
Apr 27, 2008 at 5:17 pm
If these sorts of reports had clearer language, there might not be so much confusion. From the article:
“A local survey conducted a few years ago revealed that one in every 625 Malaysian children is autistic.”
That is the wrong way to report this. Unless it was an exhaustive survey where every child was examined, it can’t tell us how many children are autistic. It’s probably only telling us how many children are known to be diagnosed with autism. I cannot emphasize this distinction enough.
But here’s something to ponder for the mercury hypothesis fans who tend to believe numbers from these sorts of surveys. In Asia, there’s a lot of fish consumption. As a matter of fact, kids in Malaysia probably have significantly higher levels of mercury in their blood than kids in the West.
David L.
Apr 27, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Considering that this 1-in-150 autism figure includes high-functioning individuals who probably wouldn’t be diagnosed in other countries, we can’t draw any conclusions from stated autism rates. Were you to meet me, you probably would not even suspect I had autism and most of that 1 in 150 are individuals like me.
Donna
Apr 27, 2008 at 9:45 pm
I completely agree with the idea of greater awareness being a big part of the issue, but Malaysia still might have a lower autism rate. Some researchers think that autism can cause problems in being born. Malaysia has a higher infant mortality rate than the US, about 17 deaths/1,000 live births in Malaysia vs. about 7 deaths/1,000 live births in the US. It is possible that some of the extra infant deaths in Malaysia are related to autism. Anyway, something to think about.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: