This week, in The Times of India, Autism Speaks’ Andy Shih describes the promising advances discussed at the recently concluded South Asia International Autism Conference, in New Delhi. The conference focused on advances in delivering autism screening and intervention services in communities where few, if any, specialists are available.
“There was a lot of excitement about parent-mediated intervention as a possible solution,” Dr. Shih told The Times. “We know early intervention can make a huge difference in child and family outcomes. By giving non-specialists like parents, teachers and community health workers the skills to deliver these interventions at home or school, it could help millions of children and families in South Asia alone. Since the lack of service capacity is a pervasive challenge worldwide, parent-mediated intervention can potentially contribute to better care for all our children and families.”
A featured speaker at the conference, Dr. Shih is Autism Speaks senior vice president for scientific affairs and heads its Global Autism Public Health Initiative. Representatives from Autism Speaks attended the conference to support the autism-advocacy leadership of Merry Barua and Action for Autism.
Read the full The Times of India interview here.
Read more about Autism Speaks’ Global Public Health Initiative here.