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Egypt and Autism

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Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Historical Background

Egypt is located in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip. Genetic diseases in Egyptians have been known since the days of the pharaohs as recorded in the ancient history. Gene flow to Egyptian population occurred from Greco-Roman, Arab, Turkish, French, and English settlers. For reasons of custom, tradition, culture, and socioeconomic benefit, consanguineous marriages occur in approximately half, and first-cousin marriages occur in one third of Egyptians (Yamamah 2012). The population of the region is characterized by large family size, high maternal and paternal age, and a high level of inbreeding with consanguinity rates. Women are continuing to bear children until menopause increasing the predisposition to inherited disorders.

Developing countries are facing an alarming gap between innovations in childhood learning and developmental disabilities (LDD) research and their delivery to communities. Important problems...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research on Children with Special Needs, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt

    Nagwa Abdel Meguid

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  1. Nagwa Abdel Meguid
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Correspondence to Nagwa Abdel Meguid .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

    Fred R. Volkmar

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Meguid, N.A. (2021). Egypt and Autism. In: Volkmar, F.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91280-6_102026

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