For decades, children in many rural -and sometimes urban – areas across the Arab world were thought to have been touched by black magic or the ‘evil eye’ when they started to exhibit poor social skills or impaired communication. They were often shunned and hidden away from the world because they are ‘different.’

In recent years, however, pediatricians in several countries in the region are recognizing the symptoms of autism and autistic spectrum disorders. Thousands of cases that would have gone unreported are now being diagnosed early enough for successful intervention. Many physicians have also set up organizations to increase awareness among doctors and parents to aid in early diagnosis. One of the earliest such efforts is The Egyptian Autistic Society – which has for over a decade been a place parents can turn to if they suspect their child may be autistic.

More recent efforts sprung up in the Gulf States, such as the Doha-based Shafallah Centre which won first place in the European Union’s Chaillot Award in 2011. Dubai is home to the Dubai Autism Center and in 2007 neighbouring Abu Dhabi signed an agreement with the New England Center for Children (NECC) in Massachusetts, United States, to bring autism research and cutting edge treatments to the United Arab Emirates. The Autism Research and Treatment (ART) Center at the King Saud University in Saudi Arabia is also offering basic research in autism – a first in the region.

On the other hand, psychologists argue that there is still a long way to go. The main problem is that most research – and thus treatments – have been created in the West for a primarily Anglo-Saxon population and may not be relevant to the Arab world. In an interview on Nature Middle East, Ziad Kronfol, a psychiatrist at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q), argues that the region needs a serious overhaul to bring proper psychology education into medical school curricula.

Amr Mostafa, a psychiatrist at the King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia, argues that governments in the Arab world need to do more to support autistic children and their parents. They should provide the qualified teachers needed and help parents, especially since the financial burden of raising an autistic child can be very high.

Ultimately, it will take a consorted effort to address autism in the Arab world, pretty much like anywhere else in the world. The key cornerstone will be, however, to continue raising awareness and fighting stigma. Two decades ago, parents would have petitioned a school to remove an autistic child so he or she does not mingle with their children. Attitudes have changed now, but that situation is still not far-fetched, and less educated parents might still try to hide their autistic children from the world in embarrassment It will take a societal effort to change these perceptions, led by more easily available information about autism for the public.