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The management of children with autism is a complex and challenging task due to the symptoms related to the disorder that affect their cognitive and behavioral functioning. This makes it difficult for them to process information and adapt to new situations, leading to non-cooperative tendencies during therapy sessions, which can slow down their progress. To support professionals and enhance the therapy experience for these children, a deep learning and contextual chatbot technology based framework, named ”Friendy,” has been proposed and implemented. The results of its performance testing show a high accuracy rate of 80.5% and the experimentation with independent professionals demonstrate its promising potential for scalability and integration into future therapy processes. The framework provides a valuable solution to the difficulties encountered in the management of children with autism, offering an innovative and effective approach to their care.

A recently introduced ELISA test (EIA-Test) was used for the detection of the common organisms that cause acute bacterial meningitis (ABM). The test--which detects antigens of Haemophilus influenzae type b, Neisseria meningitidis (serogroups A, B, C) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (25 selected types)--is performed in less than 1 hour and read by the naked eye. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens of 125 Sudanese children (1 month-14 years) admitted with a provisional diagnosis of meningitis/meningoencephalitis were prospectively examined with the EIA-Test, direct microscopy (DM) using Gram stain and culture. Of the 56 positive CSF specimens, the EIA-Test had the highest yield (100%), followed by culture (33.9%) and DM (30.4%). Nineteen (33.9%) of the positive samples came from children who had been treated with antibiotics prior to admission, and all were positive in the EIA-Test. EIA-Test was also the only positive test in 31 (55.4%) cases. From the present study, and similar to previous observations, the EIA-Test seems to have valuable potential for the rapid diagnosis of ABM and is of particular help in patients who have been pre-treated with antibiotics.

During the period April 1985 to November 1986 (18 months), 196 children (of age greater than 1 month) admitted to the Children's Emergency Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan, with clinical suspicion of meningitis/meningoencephalitis were followed up prospectively. Bacterial meningitis was diagnosed by culture, direct microscopy and/or antigen-detecting assays (co-agglutination and enzyme immunoassay) in 44 infants (25 Haemophilus influenzae type b, 8 Neisseria meningitidis, 7 Streptococcus pneumoniae, 3 enterobacteria and one mixed infection), aseptic meningitis in 52, cerebral malaria in 4 and febrile convulsions in 96. The majority of cases of bacterial meningitis were boys and 57% of those in whom H. influenzae was the commonest isolate were less than 1 year old. The presenting signs and symptoms are described as well as the transient and permanent short-term sequelae. The total mortality from bacterial meningitis was 19%, permanent neurological sequelae were seen in 26% of survivors. Prospective follow-up, including audiometry, of 35 children 1-2 months after discharge showed that 11% had hemiplegia and 20% had hearing impairment. The potential impact of vaccination against invasive H. influenzae infections is discussed.