KOTA KINABALU: Likas Women and Children's hospital here has been receiving between 8 and 10 referral cases related to autism for the past four years, said paediatrician Dr Ng Su Fang.
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also estimates that autism prevalence is as high as 1 in 59 children.
"It is uncertain whether this trend is reflective of the rise in the number of autism or simply due to better recognition and awareness among our population.
"Therefore with such prevalence, I could not emphasizs more on the importance of support services for this special group of children and their families," she said, during the hospital's Autism Awareness Day here.
The hospital had recently completed inaugural 4-month of parental coaching programme for 9 families dealing with autistic children.
The one-off programme was sponsored by K9 Golfer group.
Dr Ng, who is also the organising chairperson for the programme, said the principles of effective childhood intervention for autism involved early enrolment into an intensive programme.
Meanwhile, the hospital's paediatric department head Dr Fong Siew May said that there is much more to be done to increase awareness among the community on autism.
"It is important for parents to seek medical help as early as possible when they suspect something amiss about their children especially in communication aspects.
"By having diagnosis from specialists, parents could have interventions to deal with their children's condition," she said, adding the hospital has also been working closely with non-governmental organisations to provide support services for families.
Present was the hospital's assistant director Dr Marcus Netto.
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