What has been your experience or someone you know who was diagnosed with Asperger or Autism?

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Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a developmental disorder characterised by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. As a milder autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it differs from other ASDs by relatively normal language and intelligence.

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Autisme-Maurice-SEDAM-167554336786073/

Website: http://www.autismemaurice.org/en/

Press Release: https://www.lemauricien.com/article/living-autism/

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gices Level 6

My friend's brother's son has autism and they said they were not getting enough support and found it hard to cope. After a few years they moved abroad as the mother was from another country.

I don't what the support is like in Mauritius to be completely honest. What I do know is that there's not much awareness around the subject, so when people see someone who has autism and behaving like a child, they tend to label them as "fou" or "retarde" and it becomes difficult for the parents to live a normal life.

They basically started home schooling the child and I think that made it worse because he would not mingle with other kids at all. The parents felt they needed to protect him all the time and they wouldn't even leave him with the grandmother.

He became more and more aloof and that probably affected his ability to learn and to become part of the society. The parents stopped meeting their friends too, maybe because of embarrassment that their kid is not normal, I'm not sure, but this had a very negative impact on their life.

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sarah_7 Level 2

Indeed I could find only two NGOs for mental illness in general. My friend watched an asperger documentary and told me that she thought of me. I remember making asperger tests online and found mixed results. I couldn't really find information on how to get tested by a professional in Mauritius. That's why I've put the 3 links so that if someone is searching online and come accross clever dodo, they can be redirected to something at least. Your friend's brother didn't have the support he needed as a parent. It must be exhausting. And in Mauritius, it's like many people have stigma over so many important things. Not talking about issues is what makes so many mauritians miserable