Experience and Challenges in Setting up a Model - Mahasarakham ...

& Handleman, 2000). For intensive
intervention to produce positive impact
to children with autism, the intervention
needs to be delivered at least 25 hours
a week, 12 years a month, with a low
student-teacher ratio, including one-toone
session (The American Academy of
Pediatrics, 2009).
Since the sudden increase in
the prevalence of autism, the field has
been bombarded with various strategies
that are guaranteed to help children
with autism to overcome their learning
difficulties. Thankfully a number of
scientific research has been carried out
to study the effectiveness of teaching
strategies because it is very important
that only scientifically proven effective
teaching strategies are used in classrooms
in order to ensure a bright future for them
and to avoid wasting educational funds
(Simpson, 2004).
Autism in Malaysia
A research on the prevalence
of autism in Malaysia was carried out
in 2004 by the Ministry of Health. The
finding from this research suggest that
the prevalence of autism in Malaysia is 1
incident for every 600 births. This finding
can be challenged due to the limitations
in its methodology and there is a strong
possibility that the prevalence is higher as
reflected by the prevalence rate reported
from other parts of the world. However,
with 15 million children below the age
of 15 in this country, it can be safely
estimated that there are at least 20,000
children below the age of 15 who have
autism. This is a very big number and
if the prevalence is actually higher than
this reported finding, the actual number
of children with autism in Malaysia will
IJEAD 2(2) : 37-47, 2011
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be even higher. Apart from this research,
doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and
teachers have been reporting an increase
in the number of children with autism in
their clinics and classrooms.
There are many barriers towards
the provision of educational services for
children with autism in Malaysia. Firstly,
there is a lack of professionals in the
mental health area. Currently, there are
only approximately 263 psychiatrists in
Malaysia to serve a population of nearly
27 million. As for psychiatrists, currently
there are only 50 who are registered with
the professional organization.
Secondly, there is a lack of
culturally appropriate assessment
instruments for use with children who have
mental issues. Currently, professionals
are still using standardized assessment
instruments that were constructed based
on foreign culture and population. The
lack of professionals in the mental
health area and culturally appropriate
assessment instruments has made it very
difficult to identify, diagnose and serve
children with autism in this country.
For families who have managed to
get their children diagnosed with autism,
accessing early intervention services is an
uphill task. This difficulty is due to the
fact that there are very limited number
of centers providing early intervention
services for children with autism in this
country. There is a growing demand
for services and most centers have
long waiting lists. Centers for early
intervention services are mostly located in
big towns, meaning limited accessibility
to families especially those living in the
rural areas.
Another factor that is a barrier
towards the provision of educational