Barriers to Health Care for individuals with Autism

Two of our stories discuss the barriers to health care that a mother of a child diagnosed with autism faces in Nigeria.

A paper from March 2021 entitled Tackling healthcare access barriers for individuals with autism from diagnosis to adulthood, discusses barriers to health care faced by families and individuals with autism. The abstract states “Most individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—a complex, life-long developmental disorder—do not have access to the care required to address their diverse health needs. Here, we review: (1) common barriers to healthcare access (shortage/cost of services; physician awareness; stigma); (2) barriers encountered primarily during childhood (limited screening/diagnosis; unclear referral pathways), transition to adulthood (insufficient healthcare transition services; suboptimal physician awareness of healthcare needs) and adulthood (shortage of services/limited insurance; communication difficulties with physicians; limited awareness of healthcare needs of aging adults); and (3) advances in research/program development for better healthcare access.”

More research needs to be done. Another study, Autistic disorder in Nigeria: profile and challenges to management, states “Autism represents one of the most common developmental disorders affecting children, but there are few reports on autism in African children.”