The Effectiveness of Play Therapy Intervention in Developing Social Skills for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The mental health of young people is an issue of public health and sustainable development that is still underestimated in the countries of the South, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, even though demographic and health transitions make it a major challenge. The overview of mental health in developing countries highlights the absence of a specific policy, the lack of resources allocated to this health sector, and the scarcity of research, even though mental illnesses have decisive and growing morbid, social, and economic impacts. The insufficient production of data contributes to the invisibilities of this issue. Based on the literature and the experiences of the authors on mental health in Senegal, they illustrate how the psychological health of young people is interwoven into the societal context.