Co-creating advocacy for and research about autism among Somali children in Järva
This project is a planning grant from FORTE where we will adopt a community-based participatory research approach to diminish health inequity and increase the relevance of autism research for all.
Autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability is a severe and long-lasting disorder. Repeated systematic reviews show that migrant children have an increased risk of it, but the use of available care is lower in the group. This project aims to;
- Elucidate the complex reasons why children of migrants have an increased risk of autism with ID and go from evidence to action to prevent it.
- Co-design, evaluate and implement interventions to promote a better understanding of the disorder in high-risk migrant groups to decrease stigma and increase the use of available evidencebased care.
Research of causes, and interventions to make affected children thrive must include and enlist the help of those affected not to overlook risk factors and to increase the likelihood that the research findings can be applied in real life.