According to the UN, one in every 160 children suffers from autism. With only 50 child psychiatrists in Africa for a population of a billion people, autism is rarely diagnosed and children with autism and their carers suffer in silence.
The disorder is often seen as a curse treated by traditional healers in some parts of the continent.
Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque reports from Dakar, Senegal's capital, where a ward is helping medical staff and carers to deal with the stigmatised disorder.
