- Commentary
- Open access
- Published:
High-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders in Middle Eastern societies
Middle East Current Psychiatry volume 29, Article number: 81 (2022)
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a constellation of severe neurodevelopmental disorders which generally present with serious impairments in social interaction and verbal and nonverbal communication skills [1]. According to the latest CDC reports, ASD inflicts one in 59 persons, approximately 80% being male. Over 75% of the affected individuals suffer from serious intelligence impediments. These disorders can enormously impact the patient’s social interactions, potentially degrading them to become tremendous burdens on society [2,3,4]. Nonetheless, many autistic patients have an IQ greater than 70. They are categorized as high-functioning autism (HFA), and individuals with average or superior intellectual capacities with no developmental deficiencies are traditionally classified as Asperger’s syndrome. This group of patients with autism should not be considered disabled in a society where they can participate in setting its values.
It is demonstrated that environmental, immunological, and genetic factors are influential in the development of autism spectrum disorders [5]. Several studies with MRI imaging have demonstrated slight variations in different brain areas such as the right fusiform gyrus, right temporal-occipital lobe, left parietal lobe, left middle temporal gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus in patients with ASD [6]. Moreover, differences in the subcortical area, such as the caudate nucleus and hippocampus enlargement, and shrinkage in the cerebellum and basal ganglia are observed in those affected [7]. Different structural and functional brain variations in HFA have also revealed slight differences in the frontal lobe anatomy of the brains of patients with Asperger’s syndrome [8]. Therefore, strong evidence exists that people with Asperger’s syndrome are anatomically different from those without this condition. This anatomic deviation from the general population and peculiar brain structure is not necessarily better or worse.
In genetic terms, there has been a significant deviation from a general concept of genetic risk to a constellation of heterogeneous, individual genetic variants which increase ASD risk [9]. It is demonstrated that although environmental factors play influential roles, in approximately 74–93% of people with ASD, the risk is genetic [10]. Genetic risk in ASD has a complex inheritance pattern; some variants slightly increase the risk, and rare ones have more significant effects. Still, none of them can be considered “genetic causes” of ASD [11]. In ASD, genetic variants merely increase the risk and cannot be considered causal mutations because they lead to the development of ASD only in a minority of children [12]. Therefore, the leading genetic cause of ASD is a compilation of several genetic variants, which can also be associated with other neurodevelopmental or psychiatric differences.
With the worldwide prevalence of autism of 1–2%, it would be feasible to assume that there are approximately 80 million individuals with autism worldwide, many of them having HFA [13]. Unfortunately, no evidence-based statistics exist on the prevalence of autism in the Middle East. However, in most low- to middle-income countries, no diagnostic or intervention system exists for people with autism and HFA [14]. Hitherto, most autism research is carried out in Western countries or those with an adapted Western culture [15]. Moreover, the subject of HFA can be a very cultural-sensitive issue, and people with this condition may be judged and treated differently in different societies. For instance, based on child-rearing cultures, tolerance of eccentric behavior, expectations of the society, and traditional camouflage practices, children, adolescents, and adults with the HFQ may find attitudes of their society as hostile, tolerant, or even appreciative and gratifying of their perceptional and behavioral deviation.
Children and adolescents with HFA have a peculiar perception of the world and interact distinctly with society. They are more interested in objects than people and communicate less, tend to follow their judgments and beliefs instead of respecting society, and have intense desires and pursuits. Moreover, they are accurate at attention to detail and are generally amazed by patterned concepts such as shapes, dates, systems, and names of animals or objects [16]. Therefore, it can be asserted that children with HFA are fascinated by a world of objects instead of people and society. This can be considered a disability in a world with extreme social values and expectations. But lack of social skills does not denote disability. There is strong evidence that people with HFA are superior to others in working with machines and mechanical instruments [17]. It is also demonstrated that fathers and grandfathers of children with autism are more likely to have been engaged in engineering and machine-oriented professions [16]. The solid genetic basis for the development of HFA indicates some advantages may exist for people with the condition in certain professions and careers. But this advantage needs to be recognized and supported by families and societies, and this opportunity does not exist in most Middle Eastern countries. Moreover, to the authors’ knowledge, currently, there is no program or systematic services to guide individuals with autism to choose a suitable career where they can perform well and potentially excel.
In conclusion, it is paramount that solid diagnosis and supportive systems for people with HFA should be developed in less-developed countries. This requires more investment in domestic research on autism spectrum disorders in the Middle East. Moreover, considering the increasing number of children diagnosed with ASD, public awareness must be heightened on this sensitive subject. Middle Eastern cultures are generally family oriented and supportive, so family members can greatly assist in supporting people with HFA. In addition, the education and professional development of children are of great concern in most countries in the region. Parents are usually quite willing and committed to providing special care for their children with HFA, provided that they understand and appreciate their children’s situations and special needs. This can be realized through different means, such as local media and awareness-raising campaigns. But heightening awareness and information of the public are not enough, and family and community support should be provided for these children. Moreover, credible international guidelines should be translated into Arabic, Persian, and other local languages and, more importantly, be adopted according to the Middle Eastern culture and social systems. Considering the culture sensitivities of the case, any detection and intervention plan should be specifically designed and implemented in Middle Eastern countries.
Conclusions
Individuals with Asperger’s syndrome are not disabled and have great potential for enormous achievements, provided they are identified and supported in early childhood. Considering strong family ties in Middle Eastern cultures, it is paramount that these children should be diagnosed promptly and receive due care and training.
Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.
Abbreviations
- ASD:
-
Autism spectrum disorders
- HFA:
-
High-functioning autism
References
Szatmari P (2000) The classification of autism, Asperger’s syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder. Can J Psychiatry 45(8):731–738
Kim YS, Leventhal BL, Koh Y-J, Fombonne E, Laska E, Lim E-C et al (2011) Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in a total population sample. Am J Psychiatry 168(9):904–912
Fombonne E (2009) Epidemiology of pervasive developmental disorders. Pediatr Res 65(6):591–598
Picardi A, Gigantesco A, Tarolla E, Stoppioni V, Cerbo R, Cremonte M et al (2018) Parental burden and its correlates in families of children with autism spectrum disorder: a multicentre study with two comparison groups. Clin Pract Epidemiol Mental Health 14:143
Matelski L, Van de Water J (2016) Risk factors in autism: thinking outside the brain. J Autoimmunity 67:1–7
Cai J, Hu X, Guo K, Yang P, Situ M, Huang Y (2018) Increased left inferior temporal gyrus was found in both low function autism and high function autism. Front Psychiatry 9:542
Lai M-C, Lombardo MV, Ecker C, Chakrabarti B, Suckling J, Bullmore ET et al (2015) Neuroanatomy of individual differences in language in adult males with autism. Cerebral Cortex 25(10):3613–3628
Hall GB, Szechtman H, Nahmias C (2003) Enhanced salience and emotion recognition in autism: a PET study. Am J Psychiatry 160(8):1439–1441
Lord C, Elsabbagh M, Baird G, Veenstra-Vanderweele J (2018) Autism spectrum disorder. Lancet 392(10146):508–520
Tick B, Bolton P, Happé F, Rutter M, Rijsdijk F (2016) Heritability of autism spectrum disorders: a meta-analysis of twin studies. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 57(5):585–595
Weiner DJ, Wigdor EM, Ripke S, Walters RK, Kosmicki JA, Grove J et al (2017) Polygenic transmission disequilibrium confirms that common and rare variation act additively to create risk for autism spectrum disorders. Nat Genet 49(7):978–985
Kalsner L, Chamberlain SJ (2015) Prader-Willi, Angelman, and 15q11-q13 duplication syndromes. Pediatric Clin 62(3):587–606
Elsabbagh M, Divan G, Koh YJ, Kim YS, Kauchali S, Marcín C et al (2012) Global prevalence of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. Autism Res 5(3):160–179
Patel V, Kieling C, Maulik PK, Divan G (2013) Improving access to care for children with mental disorders: a global perspective. Arch Dis Childhood 98(5):323–327
Williams JG, Higgins JP, Brayne CE (2006) Systematic review of prevalence studies of autism spectrum disorders. Arch Dis Childhood 91(1):8–15
Baron-Cohen S (2000) Is Asperger syndrome/high-functioning autism necessarily a disability? Dev Psychopathol 12(3):489–500
McGee JP (1972) Is there a language of the eyes?
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
MVF conceived the idea and developed the argument, and AT drafted the manuscript and provided evidence supporting the view. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
About this article
Cite this article
Farahani, M.V., Tootee, A. High-functioning individuals with autism spectrum disorders in Middle Eastern societies. Middle East Curr Psychiatry 29, 81 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-022-00248-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-022-00248-3