Autism Spectrum Disorders Among Pre-primary and Primary School Pupils in Uyo, Nigeria

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorders are a group of neuro-developmental disorders prevalent in school children. There is no known study on its prevalence among children in mainstream primary schools in our environment. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of autism spectrum disorders among children in Uyo, Nigeria. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2,641 pupils aged 3-11 years from twelve primary schools in Uyo. The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale-second edition (GARS-2) and Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale (GADS) were completed by both the class teachers and the parents. Student ‘t’ test was used to compare means and chi square to compare proportion. p-value<0.05 was considered significant. Twenty- nine had Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) giving a prevalence rate of 1.1%. Nineteen had pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), 8 had autistic disorder (AD) and 2 had Asperger’s disorder (AsD). ASD was commoner in males, young age group (3-5 years) and children of upper social class. It was concluded that ASD is prevalent among children in mainstream primary schools in Uyo, Nigeria. Appropriate healthcare policy should be put in place to cater for the special needs of these children.