How to Understand Autism

Transcript Hi, I’m Dr. Asma Jamil Sadiq. I’m a developmental pediatrician. I’ve been working at Beth Israel Medical Center’s director of child development since 1997. We’re now merging with Mount Sinai, so there are going to be a lot of changes in case you need to track me down. But, I have an interesting journey …

Transcript This is advice to parents. When you have a child diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, I always want you to remember yourself as the primary caretaker. You need to look after yourself to be able to look after your child. And parents often forget that. It is such an issue to do everything. …

Transcript Toilet training can be a challenge in children with an autism spectrum disorder. These children have difficulty with the speech and language, communication, social engagement, as well as wanting routing, and tend to be preservative and at times rigid. So, all these three core characteristics and features can come in the way. In order …

Transcript ♪[Music]♪ Parents are very concerned when their child is not speaking. That’s one of the reasons why they come into the pediatrician’s office or get referred to a developmental specialist like myself. The differential diagnosis is often initially worked on by the primary physician. And one of the first concerns is, “is my child …

Transcript Social connection and social empathy is one of the core deficits that is seen in children with an autism spectrum disorder. This empathy, or lack of understanding of the other, which is known as theory of mind, we see in children having difficulty with picking up on social cues and recognizing facial expressions for …

Transcript Is having a pet good for a child with autism? There has been some interesting research that has made this a very interesting topic, where a study was done, and a child with autism, who had a pet dog or a cat for example, had increase in empathy and ability to share. Now what …

Transcript [Music playing] So how can a parent navigate the maze of information that’s now available on autism? I would break it down on areas of intervention, in the sense that you work with diagnosis, and looking at the medical piece of it as one area that you need more information on, then you look …

Transcript There’s lots of new research around autism at this present point, from genetic studies to interesting new studies with immune dysfunction that are being researched all over. Mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, these are areas that are being looked at and not just in the fact that these children have these particular differences or issues …

Transcript A child with an autism spectrum disorder has many challenges and having a sibling can really be very therapeutic for the child because there’s an in-built therapist, there’s a child right next to you, a sibling who you can imitate, connect with, and learn from. But the other way around, I think it’s also …

Transcript Children with autism spectrum disorders, tend to also be very particular with food and very selective. That puts them at a higher risk for nutrition deficiencies. That is a theory that seems to make sense but they have underlying deficiencies anyway. We haven’t researched that difference, but there are definitely deficiencies that are seen …

Transcript Is sugar bad for a child with autism? I would say is sugar bad for any child. It’s really an area that needs to be looked at because most American children are getting half a pound of hidden sugar in their foods. Simple sugars are particularly an issue. We are seeing this huge rise …

Transcript There’s a subgroup of children diagnosed with the autistic spectrum disorder that have regression of symptoms. Regression of either speech and language or of social relatedness and connectivity. In any condition, this is not normal, this is something of concern. The reason for regression is not clearly understood. Sometimes children are diagnosed to have …

Transcript [Theme music] There’s no medication to treat or cure autism, however, medications are used to treat or cure autism. The only medication that is approved for use for children with autism spectrum disorder is Risperdal, and that is for particular aggressive behaviors and irritability. There’s is no other medication as I am repeating to …

Transcript Autism is more frequently diagnosed in boys than girls but this is true for all developmental disorders. There seems to be a higher incidence or a higher ratio of boys as is to girls. With autism the data is three to five boys get diagnosed to one girl. However, when a girl is involved, …

Transcript So is autism a genetic disorder? This is something that’s been researched, and there are definitely genetic conditions that are associated with autism, something like Fragile X. And that is a testing done often in children diagnosed with autism. It is rare but there’s an abnormality in the extra chromosome being transmitted that is …

Transcript Is there a diet that helps a child with autism? There’s a lot of information and data that is available more on the internet but also some research regarding different diets, and I think food is very crucial to everybody, but some children with this spectrum have increased food intolerances, as well as food …

Transcript Physical therapy often just called PT is provided for children who have gross motor difficulties and delays. Children with the autism spectrum diagnosis may or may not have gross motor delays or difficulties and this has to be tailored to the children who do have that particular problem. Kids with Asperger’s, which is a …

Transcript [Music] Occupational therapy is used for children with fine motor difficulties and delays. In children with the autism spectrum diagnosis, there are often fine motor issues. But beyond just the actual using of, whether it’s a pencil grasp or a pencil grasp, or tying shoelaces and using their hand and eye coordination, which, definitely …

Transcript Another common behavioral intervention that is used for children with a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder is the DIR method which stands for developmental individual difference relationship based model. And in this, it’s a matter of making the connection with the child where the child takes the lead and the parent follows or …

Transcript Another commonly used behavior intervention for children with an autism spectrum diagnosis is caller S.C.E.R.T.S. The acronym S-C-E-R-T-S stands for Social Communication Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support. The social communication piece is very important, because that is an area that children have difficulty with, particularly in the autism spectrum. So to build on that …

Transcript TEACCH stands for treatment and education of children with autism and communication handicap conditions, hence the acronym TEACCH. This is a very structured program and has been very helpful for children with the Autism spectrum. It was developed in Chapel Hill and has been around for quite awhile. It has a program where a …

Transcript Relationship development intervention, also known as RDI, is something that is very helpful in children diagnosed with an autism-spectrum disorder. This is an approach that is more parent-based, and very much focused on social interaction. It’s almost like trying to help the child catch up on some of the milestones that they may have …

Transcript Applied Behavior Analysis is one of the common behavioral interventions that is recommended for children diagnosed with the autism spectrum. A.B.A. is the common lingo. That’s what you are to hear more often, and that’s what it stands for. There are versions of A.B.A., and the one developed, or commonly used is called discrete …

Transcript Children with diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder should be evaluated for nutritional deficiencies. They tend to be very picky with food and have particular preferences with varied appetite. Data also shows that children with the autism spectrum tend to have a lot more of vitamin D deficiency, vitamin-D3. This is really a pandemic …

Transcript Children with Autism diagnosis definitely can and should go to school. After the zero to three period which is early intervention and services can be provided at home. After three years of age, the 3- to 5-year period involves preschool and can be provided in certain states by government or by the state, otherwise …

Transcript If you have a child who you think may have features of autism or autism spectrum disorder, or is even diagnosed by the primary physician, either way – you can avail off early intervention. And early intervention always known as EIP is something that’s available in every state. And at 0 to 3, you …

Transcript So how common is autism? This is a very interesting and controversial subject and a lot in the media, there’s concern that the diagnosis of autism has substantially increased. The present data is one in 88 of our children are being diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder and this is really a global statistic. …

Transcript So what is the place of using technology or something like the iPad and computers in children with an autism spectrum disorder? Well, we’re using it for children anyway. It’s a great tool, but there’s a balance that’s important. And for children with an autism spectrum disorder where language and communication is an issue, …

Transcript Does a child with autism spectrum disorder benefit from speech therapy? Well, most children have some speech or language issue because that is one of the core symptoms that is described in the diagnostic criteria for having autism. And the kind of speech therapy will vary depending on whether it’s just a simple speech …

Transcript So what is Asperger syndrome? Well, this is within the autism spectrum disorder and it is becoming a very interesting diagnosis that’s talked about in media, etcetera, etcetera, because these children are very unusual in that they can function a lot like regular children in the sense that their speech and language is not …

Transcript So how does a parent or family deal with the diagnosis given to their child of an autism spectrum disorder? Some parents have the most dreaded fear of the A-word. They go, “I don’t want to hear the word ‘Autism’,” and yet sometimes, it can also be a bit of a relief, because you’re …

Transcript [Music] So how do we diagnose a child with an autism spectrum disorder? First concerns are raised by parents, and they often come to their primary pediatrician with a concern, for example, of delayed speech, or the child is not responding to their name, or not having enough eye contact. If, for example, your …

Transcript So what are some of the common behaviors seen in children with an autism spectrum disorder? I’m going to start out with the core deficits because children often present or commonly present with speech delay or with atypical speech development. Echolalia for example, repeating words out of context, not having the back and forth …

Transcript There’s interesting research about the association of having a grandfather who conceived your parent when they were older than 50 and there being an increased likelihood for the grandchild to have, or to be, in the autism spectrum. This was a study done in Sweden and it was going back and looking at the …

Transcript So, just to mention a few of the tips to live with a child with an autism spectrum disorder. There are many things you can do and you really again have to tailor it to your particular child and the age of the child. For example, a younger toddler who has no sense of …

Transcript So what is considered mild autism? As the word mild implies, it means there’s a “little bit” of autism, per say. So what does that mean? On a gradient, when a child has symptoms, we look at the core symptoms of speech and language delay for example, or difficulty with social referencing and social …

Transcript So what is stimming in a child with autism spectrum disorder? Stimming is not quite a medical word, but often parents say that and describe a certain kind of behavior, which means stimulation. It’s like self-stimulating behavior, which can be a lot of the stereotypies that you see in a child, the repetitive hand …

Transcript So is there a role in music therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder? Absolutely. Music has been healing and transcendental for all of us but particularly for children with the autism spectrum, it can be very calming, and it’s a way of actually increasing social engagement as well. You can have engaged with …

Transcript So a commonly asked question is, “Can my child recover from autism?” And I think we need to look at the symptoms, because this is a symptom based diagnosis. A child has communication issues or has speech and language delay or has repetitive, restricted behaviors and play. These are the symptoms that give you …

Transcript So what are the common causes of meltdowns in children with autism? Well, various triggers, and we know based on the diagnosis of autism, these kids have sensory sensitivities, have difficulty with rigidity and routine. You have to look at some of these areas, as whether there’s been a noise that’s been bothering them, …

Transcript [♪Music♪] So how do we handle a child with autism having a tantrum? And I think the way to look at it is how do we handle a tantrum firstly? You know some of those techniques are ignoring for example, or holding. Actually most importantly is getting down to why this child is having …

Transcript So what is high-functioning autism? We know that autism is defined as children who have core deficits in social communications, speech and language development, as well as repetitive restricted activities- patterns of play for example, and stereotypies. A lot of these children can have some of these areas still being impacted which is why …

Transcript So what do we mean by an autism spectrum disorder? Spectrum, the word, basically means range. That is what we are seeing with these children that the three areas, the core symptoms of social engagement, speech and language communication, and restricted patterns of behavior and play. This can vary, and it’s the degree to …

Transcript So a commonly asked question and a big concern from parents is do vaccines cause autism? Now this is controversial and hard, but as for the research and as for what we have from the American Academy, there is no direct correlation of vaccines causing autism. However, concern that I do respect when a …

Transcript [Music] There are many types of therapies that are available that are being used with children with autism, and it has to be tailored to the child’s particular needs. For example, if a child has speech delay, we provide speech therapy. Even if a child doesn’t have exactly the delay in putting words together, …

Transcript “Is there a cure for autism?” This is a very commonly asked question by parents and I think the way I would rephrase it is really “We are providing treatment of symptoms”, because autism is a symptom-based diagnosis. It’s based on certain diagnostic criteria and as these criteria are no longer valid, could we …

Transcript There many early signs of autism and parents actually sometimes have a gut on it, but things that we know about are eye contact, you know, not monitoring the back and forth that a child would otherwise do and that is picked up very early. Babbling behavior and cooing sounds which are very early …

Transcript [Intro Music] So, some of the common symptoms seen in children with the autism spectrum disorder; there really are quite a few and it varies. The core symptoms again is with social engagement, social communication, social referencing, with speech and language because not just delay in language but it being atypical. What we see …

Transcript So our commonly asked question is, is there a treatment for autism? Well, there may be treatments that will help the symptoms and as we talked about the cause symptoms of speech and language, of socialization and of severative play or restricted play and stereotypies often can be worked with. The treatments that are …

Transcript So what causes autism? This is a huge question on etiology and there’s a lot of research happening. What we definitely do know is there is a genetic predisposition, although there isn’t one particular gene that is responsible. It is a cascade of multiple, different genes that are involved where that single nucleotide polymorphisms …

Transcript What is Autism? Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is behaviorally described. It is seen in children and it starts early in life. The issue is in three areas being involved which is your social communication, disordered speech and language, not just delayed language, but disordered language, or atypical language development. And then the …