28/02/2026
A reflection on physiotherapy practice and education in Malaysia.
Within the Malaysian healthcare context, physiotherapists frequently manage individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) across public hospitals, private clinics, early intervention centres, and community settings. While autism is often associated with paediatric or developmental services, autistic individuals also present with non-autism-related conditions such as musculoskeletal pain, post-surgical rehabilitation needs, cardiorespiratory conditions, and functional mobility limitations.
Although the presenting diagnosis may not be autism-specific, autism-related differences in sensory processing, communication, emotional regulation, and tolerance to touch or environment remain clinically relevant and can significantly influence physiotherapy assessment and intervention.
Current physiotherapy education and training in Malaysia largely emphasise standardised assessment and treatment models designed for neurotypical populations. Autism-related content, when present, is often limited to paediatric or early intervention contexts and may not sufficiently address how physiotherapists should adapt practice when managing autistic individuals in general clinical settings.
This raises an important professional and educational question:
To what extent are Malaysian physiotherapists equipped with fundamental autism-informed clinical reasoning when treating autistic individuals with non-autism-related physical conditions?
Without appropriate adaptation, challenges encountered during therapy risk being misinterpreted as non-compliance rather than understood as responses to sensory overload, communication barriers, or environmental stressors. Addressing this gap is essential not only for treatment effectiveness, but also for ethical practice, patient dignity, and inclusive healthcare delivery.
Autism-informed physiotherapy should be considered a core clinical competency relevant across practice areas, rather than a specialised or optional skill. Strengthening this aspect within Malaysian physiotherapy education and professional development may better reflect the diversity of patients encountered in everyday clinical practice.
Perhaps it is time to broaden our definition of “fundamental knowledge” in physiotherapy.
By : Guhapriya Darsiini
A physiotherapist & a mother to an autistic child fans
