Post on 14-Apr-2018
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IMFAR, 21 May 2010, Philadelphia
Nidhi Singhal, PhD
Tamara Daley, PhDMerry Barua
Action For AutismNational Centre for Advocacy, Research, Rehabilitation and Training
New Delhi, India
COI: None
The Impact of the Popular Media on
Awareness: Aap Ki Antara
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Autism in India
Considered rare; an illness of modern civilization
Delays and misdiagnosis
High use of pharmacological and alternate therapies:
Pranic healing, Reflexology, Astrology, Acupressure, Yoga,
Ayurveda, Homeopathy
Lack of appropriate and adequate intervention centers
Schools not geared to meet special needs
Significant economically disadvantaged population
Low awareness levels and high stigmatization
www.autism-india.org
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Media Penetration
1998 2004 2005
Television sets
Cable connections
70 million
25 million
105 million
52 million
119 million
62 million
Total television viewership: 415 million; amongst world'shighest
(CII-KPMG, 2007)
www.autism-india.org
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June 2009:
An Indian television
network with a reach ofabout 120 countries andaccess to over 500 millionviewers globally
launched a nightly soapopera called
Aap Ki Antara
(Yours truly, Antara)
http://localhost/var/www/DATA/AFA/Research/Aap%20Ki%20Antara/AAK%20videos/-Aapki%20Antara%20September%2001,%202009.flv7/29/2019 Aap Ki Antara
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www.autism-india.org
Three minute
'testimonial' from afamily member of aperson with autism
Number of a seven-hour
telephone helpline
(MonFri, 1pm8pm)
Address for website of
national Indian autismorganization: Action forAutism
Each episode concluded with
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Selected a five-week sample period(Sep-Oct 09) after the initial launch
Documented calls
Coded content and background data aboutcaller/child
Used website analytics to compare sampleperiod and pre-launch period
www.autism-india.org
Method
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Documentation of basic information
a. Location of the caller
b. Age of the person of concern
c. Sex of the person of concern
d. Relationship of caller to person of concern
Additional information
a. Purpose of the call
b. Knowledge of autism prior to the serial
c. Nature of services person of concern currently
receives
www.autism-india.org
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Results:Call Summary
During initial months:
(JunAug 09) > 50 calls / day
During the five week sample period:(SepOct 09) = 336 calls total
Average of approx 15 calls / day
www.autism-india.org
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Who is Calling
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Mother
Father
Grandparent
A
unt/uncle
Sibling
Self
Other
relative
No
n-relative
37.9
30.7
2.5
5.9 6.2
0.9
3.4
12.4Per
centage
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North, 38.9
South, 6.5Central, 16.4
East, 17.9
West, 18.5
OutsideIndia, 1.9
All figures are in percentage
Location of Caller
(including Dubai, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, & Italy)
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Location of Caller
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
2.5
0.3
3.14
0.3
2.8
0.6
16.4
0.3
4
5.6
0.60.6
2.23.1
0.9
2.8
13.6
0.3
2.8
7.4
4.3
10.8
0.9
8
1.9
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Reason for Call
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Diagnosis
Don't know
No diagnosis
CP
"Delay, slow, will be OK with age"
Other (seizures, blind, braindamage)
MR, Down's
ASD
0 10 20 30 40 50
3.6
28.6
3.1
7.1
8.5
14.3
34.8
Percentage
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Of the callers with a child diagnosed withautism
48% of children did not attend any school 36% attended a special school
16% attended a regular school
Services
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65% of all callers reported that they were notaware of autism prior to watching
Aap Ki Antara
Awareness
www.autism-india.org
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During sample period (Sep Oct 09) sitereceived 7,781 visits from:
129 countries and territories
79% of these were new visitors
42% of the visits were from India (79 cities)
27% were from the U.S. (51 states)
Website Traffic
www.autism-india.org
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Compared to a five week period before showwas launched (Apr May 09):
An increase of 35% total number of visitors
An increase of 30% of first time visitors
97% increase in people accessing the site
through direct entry of website address
Website Traffic
www.autism-india.org
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Television as a medium can be a powerfulsource for raising awareness
Includes penetration in rural areas where access toservices is limited
Popularity of show independent of accuracy ofportrayal
Can serve as a reference point
Validation of personal experience
www.autism-india.org
Implications
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Next Steps
Documenting awareness of AAK through intakeinformation sheets
Small awareness study on My Name is Khan
Applied for funding for an IVR+phonecounseling helpline
Developing 30 second spots for TV and theaters
www.autism-india.org
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Thank You!
Nidhi Singhaldr.nidhisinghal@gmail.com
Tamara DaleyTamaraDaley@westat.com
Action For Autismactionforautism@gmail.com
www.autism-india.org
mailto:dr.nidhisinghal@gmail.commailto:TamaraDaley@westat.commailto:actionforautism@gmail.commailto:actionforautism@gmail.commailto:TamaraDaley@westat.commailto:dr.nidhisinghal@gmail.com