By Ndey Ceesay
On April 12, 2025, The Gambia marked World Autism Awareness Day for the first time – an event organized by the Gambia Autism Support and Advocacy Network (GASAN).
Held under the theme “Celebrate Differences”, the event brought together individuals with autism, their families, advocates, and key stakeholders to raise awareness and promote inclusion.
What is Autism?
- According to Autism Gambia, a charity dedicated to creating awareness, autism is a lifelong neurological disorder that appears before the age of three years. It is also a developmental disability that affects verbal and non-verbal communication and social interaction.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) describes Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) as a diverse group of conditions – characterized by some degree of difficulty with social interaction and communication. Other characteristics are atypical patterns of activities and behaviors, such as difficulty with transition from one activity to another, a focus on details and unusual reactions to sensations.
- The abilities and needs of autistic people vary and can evolve over time. While some people with autism can live independently, others have severe disabilities and require life-long care and support. Autism often has an impact on education and employment opportunities.
Symptoms of Autism?
Social communication and interaction skills can be challenging for people with ASD. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Examples of social communication and social interaction characteristics related to Autism include the following:
- Avoids or does not keep eye contact
- Does not respond to name by 9 months of age
- Does not show facial expressions such as happy, sad, angry, and surprised by 9 months of age
- Does not play simple interactive games like pat-a-cake by 12 months of age
- Uses few or no gestures by 12 months of age
Other Symptoms?
- While these may not apply to all children with ASD, other symptoms include:
- Delayed language skills
- Delayed movement skills
- Delayed cognitive or learning skills
- Epilepsy or seizure disorder
- Unusual eating and sleeping habits
Causes of Autism?
- According to the WHO, available scientific evidence suggests that there are probably many factors that make a child more likely to have autism, including environmental and genetic factors.
- Autism Speaks, a global advocacy organisation, wrote that genetic influences and environmental influences, including social determinants, appear to increase the risk of autism and shape the type of autism that a child will develop.
- However, it’s important to keep in mind that increased risk is not the same as a cause. For example, some gene changes associated with autism can also be found in people who don’t have the disorder. Similarly, not everyone exposed to an environmental risk factor for autism will develop the disorder. In fact, most will not.
Diagnosis and Early Intervention
Early diagnosis and intervention are critical in supporting children with ASD. While every child develops at their own pace, delays in speech, social interaction, or behavior may signal the need for further assessment. Early identification allows for timely support that can significantly improve a child’s long-term developmental outcomes.
Support and Treatment Options
There are many types of treatments available. These treatments generally can be broken down into the following categories, although some treatments involve more than one approach:
- Behavioral approaches: Behavioral approaches focus on changing behaviors by understanding what happens before and after the behavior. Behavioral approaches have the most evidence for treating symptoms of ASD
- Developmental approaches: Developmental approaches focus on improving specific developmental skills, such as language skills or physical skills, or a broader range of interconnected developmental abilities.
- Educational approaches: Educational treatments are given in a classroom setting. One type of educational approach is the Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children (TEACCH) approach. Educational treatments are given in a classroom setting.
- Social-relational approaches: Social-relational treatments focus on improving social skills and building emotional bonds. Some social-relational approaches involve parents or peer mentors.
- Psychological approaches can help people with ASD cope with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) is one psychological approach that focuses on learning the connections between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
- Complementary and alternative treatments: Some people with ASD and their families use treatments that do not fit into any of the other categories. These treatments are known as complementary and alternative treatments.
Autism in The Gambia
In The Gambia, the Gambia Autism Support and Advocacy Network (GASAN) is leading awareness efforts and providing support to people with autism.
GASAN also provides training of trainer programme on autism – providing an in-depth exploration of the autism spectrum. Its first National Training of Trainers on the Autism Spectrum benefitted educators, journalists, social workers, and parents of autistic children.
About 942 per 100, 000 people have been diagnosed with autism in The Gambia. This rate is lower than the global average, which is typically estimated at 1–2% of the general population (1,000 to 2,000 per 100,000 people), according to World Population Review’s Autism Rates by Country 2025.
GASAN has called on the Gambia government “to step up and invest in services that actually help. We need our schools to welcome every child, not just the ones who fit a mold.”
Access to professional support services, such as pediatric neurologists, speech therapists, and behavioral specialists, remains limited in the Gambia. Families often lack the resources or knowledge to identify early warning signs, such as poor eye contact, delayed speech, repetitive behaviors, and lack of interest in social play.
What we can do locally?
To improve the lives of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families in The Gambia, a multi-sectoral and sustained approach is crucial. While progress has been slow, there are clear steps that can be taken to build a more inclusive and supportive environment:
Healthcare System & Diagnostic Services: Accessibility of screening, diagnostic wait times, insurance coverage, and quality of diagnostic protocols.
Educational Support & Inclusion: Specialized education programs, teacher training, classroom accommodations, and inclusion policies.
Government Policy & Funding: Autism-specific legislation, budget allocation, national strategies, and cross-ministerial coordination.
Family Support Services: Respite care availability, parent training programs, financial support, and transition services.
Social Inclusion & Employment: Employment programs, anti-discrimination laws, public awareness, and community integration initiatives.
An official of Gambia’s Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Ida Badjie, said there is a need for an inclusive educational system. “Every child deserves a space where they belong—not just to be present, but to participate, to be heard, and to be understood,” she is quoted as saying at an autism awareness event organized by the local agency, Together for Autism Gambia (TFAG), on April 16, 2025.
The United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared 2 April as World Autism Awareness Day to highlight the need to help improve the quality of life of those with autism so they can lead full and meaningful lives as an integral part of society.
