The number of identified cases of autism in children in Kazakhstan has been growing in the past seven years - the figure has increased five times. This was reported in the Department of Maternal and Child Health of the Ministry of Health, Standard.kz reports.

According to the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Mental Health of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 4887 patients with ASD are under dynamic observation - as of December 31, 2021.

in 2015, a total of 228 cases of autism in children were identified;
2016 - 285;
2017 - 394;
2018 - 476;
2019 - 645;
2020 - 756;
2021 - 1184.
"The increase in the number of identified patients with ASD over the past seven years is associated with the widespread training of psychiatrists, general practitioners, primary health care psychologists on early diagnosis of ASD, as well as the introduction of diagnostic tools at the regional level," the Department explained. 

In Kazakhstan, specialized care for patients with autism spectrum disorders is provided by 17 regional mental health centers, 82 primary mental health centers at the level of city polyclinics.

"Treatment of children with ASD is carried out according to the clinical protocol "General Developmental Disorder", including the nosologies "childhood autism", "Asperger's syndrome", "atypical autism", "hyperactive disorder" and "Rett's syndrome", according to which interventions with evidence-based evidence are recommended. base: comprehensive intervention programs; targeted interventions; groups of targeted interventions aimed at developing certain skills; methods and principles of applied behavior analysis," the Department informed.