The Background:

South Asia is currently facing the highest rates of neurodevelopmental disability (NDD), with a significant portion of children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) residing in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Despite these high incidence rates, the region severely lacks community-based initiatives for the early identification and provision of proven interventions for young children with neurodevelopmental challenges, particularly autism.

The Project Components:
 

Leveraging over a decade of collaborative efforts, NAMASTE introduces the PASSPlus intervention — a parent-led, non-specialist-driven approach, supported by a digital training and supervision platform, tailored to the South Asian context and culture. Additionally, it incorporates CST, a developmental disability group intervention developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The following four work streams are developed under NAMASTE:

The project will evaluate:

• the acceptability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the digital training;
• the feasibility and acceptability of detection and its validity against independent clinical assessment;
• intervention effectiveness on family outcomes and child development, through a pre-post observational cohort design;
• case studies and mixed methods evaluation of community and public engagement.

Additionally, NAMASTE will generate comprehensive economic data on pathways to care, which will enable resource modeling to estimate the cost of scaling up. This data will be presented as national policy briefs at the end of the program period.

Supporters and Project Duration:
 

NAMASTE is generously supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, UK, and is scheduled to run from 2022 to 2027. This ambitious project represents a concerted effort to address the critical need for accessible and effective care for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities in South Asia, with the hope of setting a precedent for global health systems to follow.

For more information, visit: NAMASTE | Sangath