PILOT Experience of Promoting Adequate Conditions for Autism EARLY Detection from a National University in Salta (NORTHWEST ARGENTINA)

Background: Salta is rich in cultural diversity (in its territory, more than ten native languages are used in addition to Spanish) and its social and economic reality generally imply numerous context challenges for development. It was observed that, due to some lack of official actions, the community of relatives of children with ASD and local professionals were concerned with doing early detection campaigns for autism, but without noticing certain inadequacies in the devices (since used instruments did not adapted neither that was considered necessary) and interpretations (in general the same notion of "early detection" was often somewhat indistinguishable in some practice near of “diagnosis”). There was no statistics on this issue at any level. Advanced this project, it emerged the need to broaden our view and to consider autism among other development challenges, as well as to emphasize in formative/educational aspects.

Objectives: As a strategy, to project and pilot a set of devices and practices towards the realization of early detection campaigns of autism and other development challenges according to provincial priorities of public health. Coherently with their academic mission in a challenging context, this university project emphasize both in connecting Salta’s people with the most advanced knowledge about this issue and doing training at all levels, as well as promote and empowering the local knowledge construction.

Methods: a) To analyze national and international background. b) To establish several interdisciplinary teams around key objectives and activities. c) To promote alliances and intra- and inter-institutional synergies with other professionals de Salta, community organizations, and public agencies (National Secretariat for University Policies and Secretariat of University Extension-UNSa, Ministry of Public Health, Statistics Division of the Province), as well as convening volunteers (among those who included people with ASD). d) Strategically, to conduct actions through continuous assessment, consultations on specific aspects to national and international experts, and request for evaluation and monitoring to UNICEF.

Results: a) To get some 'more refined' sense of need for early detection, using adequate instruments and to better distinguish the notion and scope of these actions, in general. b) Generate a device to raise awareness by “walk a mile in the shoes…” of various groups regarding the ASD, through the cinema. c) Develop local versions of the M-CHAT-R / F in Spanish and Wichí (one of the original indigenous languages) and pilot the Spanish version on the ground, as a preparation for to be validate. d) Create a suitable cascade training device for the interviewers who pilot such local version of M-CHAT-R/F on the ground, as well as design mixed teams with university volunteer students of Education, Nursing, and Medicine. e) Produce the first statistical data and estimations of Salta about this concerns. Data were collected by probabilistic sampling -elaborated by experts of the Salta Government, and being correlated with a corpus of context data relayed by the Permanent Household Survey. f) Elaboration of a plan of postgraduate courses related to this issues.

Conclusions: In their final form, this project seems adequate, replicable and sustainable in the time.