Ribeiro Sabrina H, Paula Cristiane S de, Bordini Daniela, Mari Jair J, Caetano Sheila C
Ambulatório de Cognição Social Marcos Tomanik Mercadante (TEAMM), Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Distúrbios do Desenvolvimento, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Braz J Psychiatry. 2017 Oct-Dec;39(4):352-354. doi: 10.1590/1516-4446-2016-2141. Epub 2017 Oct 2.
Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) seem to perceive that their child's development is not following the normal pattern as early as the first year of life. However, ASD children may not receive a diagnosis until they are of preschool age, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pathway between initial parental concerns about atypical child development and ASD diagnosis in Brazil.
Nineteen mothers whose children had been diagnosed with ASD participated and were interviewed. The ASD group consisted of two girls and 17 boys, with a mean age of 93.0 months (SD 48.4 months; range 39-197 months).
Mothers had their first concerns regarding ASD when children were 23.6±11.6 months old, but formal diagnosis occurred at a mean ± SD age of 59.6±40.5 months, corresponding to a 3-year delay. Most mothers felt discouraged to address their concerns due to negative experiences with health professionals.
In Brazil, mothers perceived the first signs of ASD in their children at an age similar to that reported in other countries, but the diagnosis of ASD seemed to be delayed. Consistent with the literature, mothers reported negative experiences with health professionals during the pathway to achieving ASD diagnosis.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的家长似乎早在孩子一岁时就察觉到其发育未遵循正常模式。然而，ASD儿童可能直到学龄前才会被诊断出来，尤其是在低收入和中等收入国家。本研究的目的是评估巴西家长最初对儿童发育异常的担忧与ASD诊断之间的路径。
19位孩子被诊断为ASD的母亲参与了研究并接受了访谈。ASD组包括2名女孩和17名男孩，平均年龄为93.0个月（标准差48.4个月；范围39 - 197个月）。
母亲们在孩子23.6±11.6个月大时首次对ASD产生担忧，但正式诊断的平均年龄±标准差为59.6±40.5个月，这意味着延迟了3年。由于与医疗专业人员的负面经历，大多数母亲在表达担忧时感到气馁。
在巴西，母亲们察觉到孩子出现ASD的最初迹象的年龄与其他国家报告的年龄相似，但ASD的诊断似乎有所延迟。与文献一致，母亲们报告在获得ASD诊断的过程中与医疗专业人员有负面经历。
