By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah requires child developmental specialists to address autism cases, a medical expert has said.
Sabah Malaysian Medical Council chairman Dr Brandon Patrick Senagang said the number of registered children diagnosed with autism has risen by over 600 per cent in a decade.
The figure increased from 6,991 in 2013 to more than 53,000 in 2023.
In Sabah, 7,057 children have been diagnosed with autism, according to the Sabah Social Welfare Services Department's latest statistics.
Dr Brandon said early developmental differences are often noticed around the age of two, but formal diagnosis commonly only occurs around the age of four.
He said early diagnosis enables early intervention for better outcomes in communication, behaviour, independence and quality of life.
A key concern, he said, is the lack of specialist coverage in the state.
He added that nationally, fewer than 20 developmental paediatricians serve Malaysia's population of more than 33 million, leaving Sabah without dedicated in-state expertise.
"Sabah, a state of nearly four million people, currently has no resident paediatric developmental specialist — not in the public sector and not in the private sector.
"This forces many families to travel to Kuala Lumpur, Penang or Johor for assessments, which is often impossible for those in rural districts," he said at the Autism Education Seminar 2026 here.
He said both federal and state governments should prioritise training and placement of developmental paediatricians through bonded return-of-service programmes to ensure specialists are deployed to Sabah.
He also called for stronger and sustained incentives, including improved regional allowances, decentralised telehealth services, investment in district-level early intervention centres, special education support and community rehabilitation programmes, as well as a comprehensive Sabah autism registry to guide long-term planning.
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