The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will soon conduct an in-depth research on autism spectrum disorder with a view to study the reasons and to address several issues related to the disorder in the country. The objective behind this programme is to find potential causes of the disorder and to develop a national representative data on it in India.

The study proposes to focus on the clinical and epidemiological research that will try to lead to early diagnosis of the disorder and give an account of prevalence of autism in India. The study will focus on evolving a diagnostic thresholds criteria for Indian population that will lead to standardisation of multi-disciplinary assessment of autistic cases in the country.

Autism is a disability that is estimated to effect more than two million people in the country. While the disorder is not rare, the majority of autistic people in the country have not been diagnosed and do not receive the services they needed. This problem occurs in many countries, but is especially true in India where there is a tremendous lack of awareness and misunderstanding about autism among the medical professionals, who may either misdiagnose or under-diagnose the condition. Moreover, there is a lack of any relevant data on autism in India since this issue has never been addressed by epidemiologists outside the West.

After a considerable amount of struggle and effort in the mid-1990's, the Government of India recognised autism as a disability. In spite of the recognition of autism as a disability, there are still many issues to be negotiated, legal and otherwise. There is a need to educate parents about the persons with disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, to be aware of what are their rights and benefits as caregivers of autistic children.

Accurate diagnosis of children with autism is a major problem faced by parents in India. Even after the diagnosis of autism, there is no services for the children and their families on the issue. With this study on autism, the ICMR plans to create more awareness about the disability so that more children are correctly diagnosed as autistic and taken care off accordingly.

The study proposes to conduct functional imaging studies along with correlational studies with neuro-psychiatric morbidities (co-morbid conditions-associated). It plans to initiate a focused programme on autism that will study standardisation of therapeutics, conduct basic research based on genetic studies, biochemical markers.

The study will focus on development of training modules for parents and children with special focus on development of modules of care at schools and home. It will focus on special education and remediation, speech therapy and sensory integration studies.