Nidhi Singhal

• Action For Autism

Introduction Autism spectrum disorders(ASD) and sleep has hand to hand relationship and few recently published studies have shown that, disturbed infant sleep is associated with Attention deficit hyperactive disorder and Autism. The aim of the study is to evaluate the sleep disturbance in first year of life among the children with ASD. Methods In...

Introduction While sleep disturbances have been widely reported among children with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), there are fewer reports addressing and objectively assessing circadian sleep wake rhythm abnormalities in this population. This study was conducted with the objective of characterizing various circadian sleep wake rhythm disorders (C...

Lay summary: The study findings support the need to understand the living experiences of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from a broader perspective, taking into account many areas of an individual's functioning and environment. The ICF can serve as foundation for exploring these living experiences more extensively by offering tools...

Decades of cross-cultural research have shown that self-concepts vary across cultural contexts. However, it is unclear whether individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who have impairments in self- and other-understanding, will acquire the relevant cultural patterns regarding self- and other-concepts; or whether their social impairments wil...

Purpose – India has one of the more progressive disability frameworks in the developing world which tends to adopt western philosophies and principles (e.g. parent participation and advocacy) which to some degree mirrors the type of service delivery in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a cross-cultural perspective to explore caregiving...

This study is the first in a series of four empirical investigations to develop International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Sets for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The objective was to use a systematic review approach to identify, number, and link functional ability and disability concepts used in the scientific A...

In many low and middle income countries where autism-related resources are scarce, interventions must rely on family and parents. A 3-month Parent-Child Training Program (PCTP) at Action For Autism, New Delhi, India is aimed at empowering and educating parents, encouraging acceptance of their child, and decreasing parent stress. Forty couples were...

There is a critical need for screening and diagnostic tools (SDT) for autism spectrum conditions (ASC) in regional languages in South Asia. To address this, we translated four widely used SDT (Social Communication Disorder Checklist, Autism Spectrum Quotient, Social Communication Questionnaire, and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) into Benga...

Although individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been diagnosed in India for over fifty years, virtually nothing is known about the social circumstances of adults, their daily lives, and their families. Where are adults with autism? How do they spend their time? Who are they with, and what are they doing all day? A mixed-method approac...

Background: The Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS; Magana et al., 1986) has been used extensively across different clinical populations and varied cultural contexts to assess parents’ relationship with their child and predict outcomes (Bhugra & McKenzie, 2003; Hooley & Parker, 2006). To our knowledge, this is the first study in any culture to compa...

Background: ASD research is increasingly conducted throughout the world, but most of the focus remains on children. This is similarly true in India, where services and other opportunities for adults are extremely limited even in urban areas. How do adults with ASD spend their time? Where are they, who are they with, and what are they doing all da...

Background: Despite housing ~18% of the world’s population, India does not yet have an estimate of prevalence of autism and autistic traits in the general population. One reason for this lacuna has been the lack of availability of translated and validated screening and diagnostic tools for autism, which we have addressed in our previous work (Chakr...

Background: Autism in India remains a highly stigmatized condition, and many adults with high functioning autism are likely to be undiagnosed and “hidden.” Emerging evidence across the world suggests anxiety and depression are probably the most common psychiatric disorder occurring in persons with autism. However, available research on anxiety and...

Background: Parent training programs rarely have an explicit focus on improving parenting practices, parent problem-solving, or stress management (Brookman-Frazee et al, 2006). Along with increased self-efficacy, these are all aspects of parent empowerment. A focus on parent empowerment and psychological acceptance are particularly appropriate fo...

Aims India does not yet have an estimate of prevalence of autism and autistic traits in the general population. Estimates drawn from studies in UK and USA suggest that India could have more than 2 million people with ASC; this prevalence estimate has never been verified. There is a critical need to measure the prevalence of autism and the distribut...

Given the variability seen in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), accurate quantification of functioning is vital to studying outcome and quality of life in affected individuals. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) provides a comprehensive, universally accepted framework for the description of health-related fun...

Globalization and women empowerment have led to stressful life among Indian women. This stress impairs women's hormonal makeup and menstrual cycle, leading to infertility. National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS-3) reports a decline in fertility status in India, indicating a rise in various infertility treatments involving hormonal interventions. No...

Incidence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is increasing across the globe and no data is available from India regarding the risk factors of ASD. In this regard a questionnaire based epidemiological assessment was carried out on prenatal, perinatal and neonatal risk factors of ASD across 8 cities in India. A retrospective cohort of 942 children was...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is being identified in an ever-increasing number of countries, including many that are low or middle income (LMIC). Research conducted in these countries requires awareness of unique ethical issues. Drawing on the experience of two organizations that have been involved in conducting and collaborating in ASD research i...

The gaps about what is known about Autism Spectrum Disorder in low and middle income countries present clear opportunities for a variety of different types of research, including epidemiological, treatment, genetic, and psychometric studies. However, such research also requires careful attention to specific ethical issues beyond what is typically f...

Background: There is a serious dearth of epidemiological research on Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) in South Asia. The availability of standardized screening and diagnostic instruments in principal regional languages constitutes a necessary first step to addressing this gap. Hindi and Bengali are two of the most widely spoken languages of this re...

Background: While estimates (based on studies in the UK and USA) suggest that India could have more than 2 million children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (Krishnamurthy 2008), this remains to be tested. Prevalence estimates from Asian countries vary widely across time and country (China :0.003%- 0.17%, Japan: 0.011%-0.21% (Sun and Allison...

Background: As autism awareness continues to grow globally, a burgeoning research literature is emerging from countries in which previous studies and reports of ASD were limited. A review of literature within a specific country or region is an excellent way to synthesize often disjointed areas of work, and can serve as a useful tool for researche...

Background: Culture specific, inexpensive screening instruments for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are required to facilitate timely diagnosis, especially in South Asian countries such as India where awareness about ASD is still limited. Additionally, there is an increased need to create a workforce who can identify children at risk early and send...

Background: In June 2009, an Indian television network with a global reach of more than 120 countries and 500 million viewers launched a nightly soap opera called Aap Ki Antara (My Name is Antara). The plot centered on a five-year old girl with autism, and each episode concluded with a three minute testimonial from a family member of a person with...

While assessment is the key to an intervention programme, it may not generate information precise enough to identify specific behaviours to teach children with autism. The authors studied the clinical presentation of autistic symptoms and the development of language and learning skills in 20 children with autism and compared it to 20 matched contro...

This paper draws attention to the stress levels and coping strategies used, in the families of children with autism. Differences in the stressors perceived and coping strategies adopted by the father, mother and siblings of a child with autism have been discussed. Given that pre-intervention parental stress levels predict the success of early inter...

A lot has been written about the stressors in the lives of parents of children with disabilities. Studies have been done to understand the types, causes and the effects of these stresses. Most often, only the negative aspects of this situation are highlighted. The work is primarily addressed towards understanding and measuring the negative attitude...