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Our current understanding of autism and other developmental disorders is primarily based on research conducted in high-income countries, predominantly in North America and Europe. Even within high-income countries, White participants are overrepresented in autism research. There is now increased recognition that a more global and diverse research representation is warranted. This paper argues that in order for global and diverse research efforts to be effective, it is essential to collaborate and engage with local experts and stakeholders, including local researchers, clinicians and representatives from governmental and non-governmental organisations. Such collaborations ensure that studies use culturally appropriate methods and materials, and that research findings are interpreted taking local context into account. Ultimately, these collaborations build local capacity and foster the development of culturally and contextually appropriate interventions that address locally perceived needs. The adage 'nothing about us without us' is vital to global autism research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are conditions affecting a child's cognitive, behavioural, and emotional development. Appropriate and validated outcome measures for use in children with NDDs in sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. The aim of this study was to validate the Communication Profile Adapted (CP-A), a measure developed in East Africa to assess caregivers' perception of communication among children with NDDs., Methods: We adapted the CP-A for use in Ethiopia, focusing on the communicative mode (CP-A-mode) and function (CP-A-function) scales. The CP-A was administered to a representative sample of caregivers of children with NDDs and clinical controls. We performed an exploratory factor analysis and determined the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, within-scale, known-group, and convergent validity of the identified factors., Results: Our analysis included N = 300 participants ( N = 139 cases, N = 139 clinical controls, N = 22 who did not meet criteria for either cases or controls). Within the CP-A-mode, we identified two factors (i.e. verbal and physical communication ); the CP-A-function scale was unidimensional. Combining both scales into one summary variable (the CP-A-total) resulted in a scale with excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97; Kappa = 0.60-0.95, p < 0.001; ICC = 0.97, p < 0.001). Testing known-group validity, the CP-A-total scores were significantly higher for controls than cases (Δ mean = 33.93, p < 0.001). Convergent validity assessment indicated that scores were negatively and moderately correlated with clinical severity ( ρ = -0.25, p = 0.04)., Conclusion: The CP-A is a valid tool for the assessment of communication among children with NDDs in Ethiopia. It holds promise as a brief, quantitative, and culturally appropriate outcome measure for use in sub-Saharan Africa., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: None., (© The Author(s) 2021.)