Autism Current Trends and Issues

1016 Words3 Pages

It is a common fact that an early intervention is an important key in the successful treatment of children with Autism disorder. According to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ([CDC], 2013), children can be diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) reliably at the age of two, yet, in real life, most of the children receive their diagnoses when they are much older. The CDC informs that children should be screened for ASD at the age of 18 to 24 months during regular well-child doctor visits.
The issue of obtaining early screening and/or diagnosis looks more promising after reading the article New Autism Screening Tool More Reliable, Study Finds. According the article, the new up-dated screening tool, The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F), spots children having the disability with more reliability. The tool flags fewer children suspected of having ASD than all previous screening tools, but eventually more of these children who are spotted by the new tool confirm their diagnoses. The tool is based on parents’ responses that pediatricians obtain during regular well-child visits at ages 16 to 30 months and identifies a child as having a low, medium, or high risk for autism. A child that is spotted as having a medium or high risk, is referred for further evaluation (Heasley, 2014).
Heasley (2014) whose article Follow-Up Lacking On Kids Flagged By Autism Screening is based on the study conducted by public health research for Autism Speaks, informed his readers that routine screenings for Autism has increased the number of children who were flagged as possibly having Autism. Yet, the research also has shown that many of these children have never received a full diagn...

... middle of paper ...

...ve Autism Treatments in Demand. Disability Scoop. Retrieved from http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2014/01/13/despite-alternative-autism/19011/
6. Wong, C., Odom, S., Hume, K., Cox, A., Fettig, A., Kucharszyk, S., Brock, M., Plavnic, J, Fleury, V., Schultz, T. (2014). Evidence-Based Practices For Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved from http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/sites/autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/files/2014-EBP-Report.pdf

7. The Interactive Autism Network. (2014). IAN Research Findings: Occupational Therapy. Autism Speaks Inc. Retrieved from http://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-item/ian-research-findings-occupational-therapy
8.
9. Heasley, S. (2013, December). Study Finds Sensory Therapy Has Merit For Kids With Autism. Disability Scoop. Retrieved from http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2013/12/09/study-sensory-merit-autism/18951/

Open Document