The number of cases of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) reported in the Central Government medical institutions has increased over the years, the lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
“At NIMHANS, the number of inpatient admission cases has increased from six in 1989 to 97 in 2011. At AIIMS, the number of new cases has gone up from 2-3 per month during the period 2005-2007 to 7-8 per month during 2008 till date,” Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a written reply to a question in the Parliament.
He said that the reasons for the rise in autism, a neuro developmental disorder, are not clear but researches in the recent years have revealed that there is a genetic basis for this condition. The Minister said data on autism, a neuro developmental disorder, is not maintained on a centralised basis and there are no large-scale studies on the population about its prevalence in the country.
The minister, however, said that in 2008, the National Trust (under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment) had conducted a survey in Delhi to estimate the number of persons having one or other type of mental disability.