New Delhi, July 6 -- Kazaliou Balde's parents started worrying about him when as a small child he avoided eye contact and had difficulty communicating.

First, the family in the West African nation of Guinea turned to a traditional healer who suggested protective amulets. Then, as the boy dragged himself along the ground instead of walking, they took him to a hospital in the capital, Conakry, where he was diagnosed with autism - something the family had never heard of before.

Neither had their neighbors. Some of them made rude comments about the child.

"Some suggested that I take him to the bush and throw him away," said his mother, Kadiatou Diallo, a 55-year-old trader.

Misconceptions are common around children with autism in parts of...