{
  "abstract": "Introduction: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition requiring long-term, coordinated, and multidisciplinary care. Although ASD services in Tunisia have improved, coordination across health, education, and social sectors remains limited, affecting equitable access and continuity of care. This study aimed to develop a national, evidence-based clinical practice guideline for the screening, diagnosis, and management of children and adolescents with ASD adapted to the Tunisian healthcare context.\n\nAssessment of guideline development and practice implications: The guideline was developed by the Tunisian Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and accredited by the National Authority for Evaluation and Accreditation in Health. Using the ADAPTE framework, a multidisciplinary panel adapted international ASD guidelines to the Tunisian context. After systematic searches and AGREE II appraisal, the 2023 Singapore ASD guideline was selected as the main source document. Recommendations were adopted, adapted, or newly developed according to contextual relevance and applicability. An additional literature search was performed to incorporate high-level evidence published between June 2023 and January 2025.\n\nActionable recommendations: The final guideline includes 96 evidence-based recommendations and 87 good practice points organized into ten chapters, covering the screening, diagnosis, intervention, and follow-up of autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents across all levels of care in Tunisia. This article summarizes the key practice-oriented recommendations across these chapters.\n\nConclusion: This first Tunisian ASD guideline aims to harmonize practices, improve the quality of care, and strengthen integrated care pathways.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, University of Monastir, Faculty of Medicine",
    "Research Laboratory LR05ES10 “Vulnerability to Psychosis”",
    "Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Mongi Slim University Hospital, University of Tunis El Manar, Faculty of Medicine",
    "Research Laboratory ‘Mother-Baby Health’ LR22SP01",
    "Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hedi Chaker University Hospital, University of Sfax, Faculty of Medicine",
    "Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Razi University Hospital, University of Tunis El Manar"
  ],
  "article_type": "other",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Randaline Ayoub"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Hela Ben Abid"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Soumaya Bourgou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Imen Hadj Kacem"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Soumeyya Halayem"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Khaoula Khemekhem"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Fatma Charfi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Asma Bouden"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7f1539775fxkg.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1926851",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13727530/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "7f1539775fxkg",
  "issns": [
    "1664-0640"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1926851/full",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Policy and Practice Reviews"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Autism Spectrum Disorder Research"
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  "openalex": "W7223067324",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1926851/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13727530",
  "pmid": "42978654",
  "published": "2026-10-20",
  "publisher": "Frontiers Media SA",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7f1539775fxkg.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:18Z",
      "native_id": "10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1926851",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1926851/full"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:45Z",
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      "source": "europepmc",
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    {
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2805|Autism Spectrum Disorder Research",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Development and contextual adaptation of the first national clinical practice guideline for autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents in Tunisia",
  "title_text": "Development and contextual adaptation of the first national clinical practice guideline for autism spectrum disorder in children and adolescents in Tunisia",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-07T12:20:42Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7f1539775fxkg",
  "venue": "Frontiers in Psychiatry",
  "versions": []
}