The 67th World Health Assembly (WHA) will be held in Geneva, Switzerland between May 19 and May 24, 2014. Autism has been listed as one of the focuses of discussion for this year’s assembly. On the theme of “Comprehensive and Integrated Autism Case Management Programs,” Taiwan will report on its nearly 30 years of policy trends and major results in treating children with autism. For example, in 1993 Taiwan revised the Child Welfare Act to provide early screening, notification referral, case management, joint assessment, intervention, advocacy, and personnel training services. A division network has also been established for government departments spanning labor affairs, social affairs, health administration, and education to create a quality health environment for holistic care, health, and welfare. 

This year’s WHA has specially appealed for “Comprehensive and Integrated Autism Case Management Programs,” emphasizing increased planning on the policy level for autism, policy recommendations based on empirical data, three-stage disease prevention frameworks, and community-integrated services. Human rights must also be ensured and discrimination avoided. Taiwan fully satisfies the autism care focuses stressed by the World Health Organization. In addition, Taiwan has long exhibited forward-thinking planning, having already developed the Child Welfare Act and the People with Disabilities Rights Protection Act. Taiwan provides special assistance and care in response to the economic burden of intervention. In addition to cooperation between departments across branches of the government, Taiwan has also vigorously promoted diverse intervention focused on “hospitals,” “organizations,” “families,” and “the community.” Subsidies have been provided to 45 hospitals to establish “child development joint evaluation centers” to provide early diagnosis and intervention for children with suspected developmental delays, satisfying the intervention needs of children with autism and their families and encouraging parents to participate in intervention plans for delayed children. 

A total of 13,072 people with autism applied to be registered as disabled in 2013. The largest age group was those between the ages of 6 and 11 (30.7%). The majority were slightly disabled (60.3%). To strengthen treatment services for people with autism, the National Health Insurance established payment incentives for children as soon as it began in 1995. Medical costs for emergency care and hospitalizations for children under the age of 6 were given bonuses between 20% and 60%. A total of 97 hospitals have departments for child and adolescent psychiatry, with 191 physicians specializing in this field. In 2013, a total of 14,747 people with autism sought treatment. 98.6% of these patients sought outpatient treatment, and 20.7% were children under the age of 6. 

Taiwan has increased the accessibility of medical care for children with autism, improved the quality of medical services, reduced economic barriers to treatment, strengthened measures for early screening of autism, and mitigated the financial burden that the intervention process places on developmentally delayed children and their families. To examine the prevalence of autism and risk factors for the disease, Taiwan will also perform epidemiological investigations and establish a complete database for the development of and deliberation on the formulation of care resources and social welfare policies. In addition, government departments spanning labor affairs, education, and health will continue to work together with the private sector to promote career transition services for people with autism and to establish career transition and case management centers with individualized services for people with autism. Taiwan’s reports and presentations during the assembly will allow the world to understand and affirm its efforts in promoting psychological health.