Symptom recognition to diagnosis of autism in Nepal.

Awareness and knowledge about autism is almost non-existent in Nepal. Children who eventually get the diagnosis often miss their opportunity for early intervention. The current study shows that medical help was seeked at mean age of 27.9 + 14.5 months and most of them were for delayed language and the first preference for parents were pediatricians. The mean age of diagnosis of autism was 55.6 months. The time length between help seeking to diagnosis was 29.4 months with longest time lag of 13 years. Delay in recognition of symptoms, delay in health seeking and lack of awareness even in treating physicians might be the reason for advanced age at diagnosis of autism in Nepal.