india more prone to autisim

The history of Autism in India is complex. Despite having the largest literature on the subject of any developing country, the government only recognized the existence of the disorder in 2001 (in the 1980s there were reports that Autism did not exist in India) (Daley, 2004).

Attitudes

A lack of government acceptance is indicative of attitudes toward Autism in India. The social stigma of having a child with a developmental disability may lead parents to keep their children from diagnosis; also, Indian society emphasizes conformity and social relatedness, two factors which may prevent parents from wanting to "make waves" and push for diagnosis (Daley, 2004).

Early Intervention

These conditions among government and society may prevent children with Autism from an early diagnosis, which complicates receiving Early Intervention, or behavioral treatment for Autism during the pre-school years. This treatment is helpful to establish appropriate behavior and communication for children with Autism; effective Early Intervention may lead to the child participating in inclusion programs in their school (Daley, 2004).

Environmental Toxin

Another factor affecting Autism in India is the country's use of vaccines with a Thimerosal base. There is research evidence linking the Thimerosal vaccine base to Autism; Thimerosal is a mercury base for vaccines which most children metabolize out, but some children might not possess the bile to metabolize, leading to mercury poisoning. Some argue that this mercury poisoning is behind Autism (Varshney, 2006).

However, although Thimerosal was removed from vaccines universally in most countries between 1997 and 2003 (Harris & O'Connor, 2005), India still retains the vaccines with a Thimerosal base, mainly because the Thimerosal based vaccine is less expensive than the Thimerosal-free version (Varshney, 2006). This environmental toxin could lead to increased cases of Autism.