Reduction in waiting time for access to mental health services during CoVid-19 improves health outcomes for patients on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in the pediatric age group in Northern Virginia. The Covid -19 pandemic has resulted in uncertainty and unpredictability across the globe. The partial...
One of the characteristics of a child on the ASD spectrum is deficits in his/ her social communication. To bridge the gaps in communication skills, the intervention needs to be tailored to match the individual communication developmental level of the ASD child. Pediatric Autism Communication Therapy...
Tantrums are common among ASD children as either a reaction to a sensory stimulus (bright colours, noise etc) or frustration resulting from not able to communicate or achieve a desired behavior. It is a challenge for the caregivers of these children on the ASD spectrum...
A child on ASD experiences sleep disorders a lot more often than other children due to the sensory overdrive, imbalanced melatonin secretion (which controls the sleep -wake cycle) and higher levels of anxiety. How can you help the child sleep better? Explain the need for sleep and...
Autistic children tend to be very picky eaters usually and its common to face mealtime challenges like very narrow food choice range, tantrums during a meal and very rigid meal regime.Researchers believe that the underlying sensory disturbances, increased levels of anxiety may lead to autistic...
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), defines ASD as a category that includes two symptom domains: 1) social communication impairments, and 2) restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviours and interests. The DSM- 5 diagnostic criteria for ASD is ad follows – Domain- ...
Presentation of Depression in ASD children is often atypical and very challenging for the psychiatrist. Depressive symptoms in ASD children reported by parents and caregivers are consistent sadness, tearfulness, apathy, or an increasingly negative affect. Anhedonia (loss of interest in activities once pleasurable) and other...
ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Often, the impairment in brain development is discussed in scientific literature, however, a study conducted by Sung-Tsang Hsieh, M.D., Ph.D., of National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei who is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests that...
Autism spectrum disorder (ICD-10-CM -F84.0) is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by two-pronged impairments: 1. Deficits in social behavior viz. communication and cognition; 2. Restricted repetitive patterns of behavior, interests and activities. No medicines or diets have proven to have a definitive cure for ASD yet. However,...
Studies have suggested that the firstborn child of parents that are older (more than 35 -40 years of age) is at an increased risk of ASD than younger parents (25-30 years). Maureen Durkin, an epidemiologist conducted a prospective population-based cohort study to determine whether advanced parental...
