“Autism is a problem of social and emotional interaction. The CARS tests are accepted worldwide, but the Ministry of Health had asked for an Indian tool because the present tool differs culturally. The ISAA is standardised and will hopefully be out after elections,” said National Trust chairperson Poonam Natarajan. “The tool needs to be notified. There was a technical problem as autism was not enumerated in the Disabilities Act, but it is now rectified.”

“ISAA is not a diagnostic tool. However, it will help a great deal in identification and rating the severity of autism,” said Dr Y P Mukesh, assistant professor (psychiatry) at NIMHANS, and an expert in child and adolescent psychiatry services.

Studies place the occurrence of autism in India at approximately one in 500. He said there are only two standardised diagnostic tools used internationally, but both are yet to be introduced in India.

The National Trust under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, and set up under the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act had asked the NIMH to design the India-specific scale. This scale has 40 statements, divided under six domains - social relationship and reciprocity; emotional responsiveness; speech, language and communication; behaviour patterns; sensory aspects and cognitive component. The test takes about 15 to 20 minutes to assess.

The ISAA’s major use, said Natarajan, is that it will help autistic kids attend regular schools. “Schools still have problems admitting mentally-retarded children, but if certified separately, autistic children can be absorbed in regular schools as they have interaction problems and not learning disabilities,” she said.