The Early Identification Of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as early as possible can have a significant, positive impact on the child's journey to adaptation and independence. Yet too few diagnoses take place at an early, developmentally crucial stage. This unique visual guide aims to equip readers with the skills to recognise ASD in very young children. The book provides a systematic framework for understanding the complex nature of ASD. From social interaction to communication to restricted and repetitive behaviors, each chapter focuses on key symptoms and uses photographs to illustrate and enhance understanding of presenting or absent behaviors. It is written in an accessible style and covers all of the core aspects of ASD, giving readers everything they need to be able to successfully identify the behavioral indicators of autism. A final chapter provides an overview of assessment options for young children being evaluated for possible ASD. Taking a visual approach to identifying ASD in very young children, this book will be a valuable resource for early intervention professionals and students, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, psychologists, paediatricians, teachers as well as parents of children pre- and post-diagnosis.

This unique visual guide aims to equip readers with the skills to recognise ASD in very young children. It provides a systematic framework for understanding the complex nature of ASD. Each chapter focuses on a different area of development and uses photographs to illustrate and enhance understanding of core autism behaviors.

From leading clinical researchers, this volume presents important recent advances in understanding and treating autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in very young children. The book is grounded in cutting-edge findings on the social-communication behavior of typically and atypically developing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The contributors highlight the connections between ASD and specific early social-communication impairments - including problems with joint attention, imitation, and play - with a focus on what clinicians can do to help. Innovative screening and assessment procedures are reviewed, as are evidence-based intervention and prevention strategies. Throughout, attention to both real-world practice and research considerations enhances the book's utility as a clinical reference and text.

Millions of children have been diagnosed with autism or fall somewhere within the autism spectrum. Early intervention, education, and training programs have been found to support these students immensely, leading to a higher level of independent social life than has previously been seen. Anxiety, bullying, communication, and learning abstract concepts can be a great challenge for autistic children and can also provide an obstacle for social interaction with other children. It is important to continue offering these students access to a broad, enriched, and balanced curriculum while also devising new approaches and alternative systems of communication that will help to facilitate their access to the educational process and foster adaptive behaviors. Interventions for Improving Adaptive Behaviors in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders offers a current overview of modern practices regarding the teaching of autistic children. This book seeks to update the current practices for professionals working with autistic children, offer practical information regarding interventions, and provide tools for managing autistic children in critical situations. Covering topics such as autism diagnostic observation schedule, inclusivity in schools, and vocational training for autistic people, this text is essential for teachers, special education teachers, administrators, speech therapists, academicians, researchers, students, and professionals and practitioners involved in the upbringing, education, social, and vocational inclusion of people with ASD.

The fourth edition of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Identification, Education, and Treatment continues the mission of its predecessors: to present a comprehensive, readable, and up-to-date overview of the field of autism; one that links research, theory, and practice in ways that are accessible to students, practitioners, and parents. During the last decade, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have emerged as the fastest growing developmental disability, and, in response to the dramatic increase in diagnoses, diagnostic criteria in the newly published DSM-5 are significantly different than they were in the DSM IV-R. The structure, content, and format of Autism Spectrum Disorders, 4th Edition have been revised to accommodate changes in the field and to illuminate the current state of the art in the study of autism. New information on early identification, transition education from adolescence through to adulthood, neurobiological research, and technology-based solutions is included.

Early identification, referral, diagnosis, and intervention are critical to the promotion of lifelong positive developmental trajectories for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Although psychometrically sound screening and diagnostic assessment measures exist and a reliable diagnosis of ASD can be made before children are two years of age, the average age of official diagnosis is well over four years. While research has shed some initial light on factors associated with delayed identification, referral, and diagnosis of ASD, all issues have been examined through population-level analyses based on retrospective caregiver self-report. Further, although suggested as an important research direction to confirm clinical information, no studies to date have analyzed factors associated with the pathway toward referral for ASD and subsequent diagnosis of ASD through examination of data reported in electronic health records. Thus, to address these limitations and develop a greater understanding of the pathway towards referral and diagnosis, the current exploratory study sought to examine clinical information from the electronic health records of all infants, children, and adolescents who were seen by a provider for an initial diagnostic visit in a specialty diagnostic clinic within a one-year period (September 12, 2019 - September 12, 2020). An array of child-related, family-related, and referring healthcare provider-related factors were examined as predictor variables to determine their association with match of referral for ASD and subsequent diagnosis of ASD, as well as to identify if there were specific factors that were consistently associated with early identification and referral of children at or under the age of three (younger than 47 months). Results indicated that 19 diagnostic (developmental, social-emotional, and medical disorders), demographic (race/ethnicity, sex, age, and geographic location), historical (caregiver-reported concerns), and professional licensure (provider practice type) factors and factor combinations predicted match of referral and diagnosis with ASD, while 35 separate diagnostic (developmental and social-emotional disorders), service provision (early and therapeutic supports), historical (caregiver-reported concerns), professional licensure (provider practice and role type), and clinical practice (screening conduction) factors and factor combinations were associated with timeliness of referral. These findings suggest important considerations for clinical practice and training, as well as highlight future research directions.

A review of the current science of identifying and treating autism spectrum disorders in young children examines research issues, approaches to assessment, and developmental, behavioral, and medical intervention models.

Early Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders is the first in a series aimed at addressing the rapidly expanding field of assessment and treatment of children with mental health issues and/or development disabilities. Early Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders is aimed at the researcher of practitioner who works with those young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In addition to covering major research developments in differential diagnosis and early intervention, the author's provide a critical review and analysis of core concept that define this area. The first chapter of the book reviews the development of definitions of autism along with early methods for diagnosing this area of developmental disabilities. Chapter two covers some of the most discussed theories of etiology along with a review of prevalence and the author's opinions on why the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has increased markedly in recent years. A chapter on the most commonly used assessment methods and a critique of the psychometric properties of each is followed by three chapters on treatment. We have broken the treatment chapters down based on type of intervention. The first treatment chapter covers specific target behaviors or small sets of behaviors. A second chapter covers training for the packaged comprehensive treatment models with particular emphasis on the TEACCH, UCLA-YAP and the University of California Santa Barbara Autism Research and Training Program. Each of these programs gives a unique perspective on treatment for these young children. The final treatment chapter covers the recent developments in pharmacotherapy for autism spectrum disorder, with a critical analysis and review of the data. We hope the overview presented proves to be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the field. We present one perspective on this exciting and innovative area of research and treatment. Hopefully, it will serve as one useful source to those who wish to provide the most up to date evidence based intervention to these young developmentally challenged children. The first of a new series that is intended to expand knowledge of the assessment and treatment of children with developmental disabilities and/or mental health issues Provides definitions, addresses diagnosis, intervention, and treatments Of particular importance to researchers and practitioners who work with children who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The Handbook of Speech and Language Disorders presents a comprehensive survey of the latest research in communication disorders. Contributions from leading experts explore current issues, landmark studies, and the main topics in the field, and include relevant information on analytical methods and assessment. A series of foundational chapters covers a variety of important general principles irrespective of specific disorders. These chapters focus on such topics as classification, diversity considerations, intelligibility, the impact of genetic syndromes, and principles of assessment and intervention. Other chapters cover a wide range of language, speech, and cognitive/intellectual disorders.

Estimated prevalence rates of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have increased at an alarming rate over the past decade; current estimates stand as high as 1 in 110 persons in the population with a higher ratio of affected males to females. In addition to their emotional impact on the affected persons and their family members (in fact, the latter are often unrecognized unaffected “patients” themselves), the economic and social impacts of ASDs on society are staggering. Persons with ASDs will need interdisciplinary approaches to complex treatment and life planning, including, but not limited to, special education, speech and language therapy, vocational skills training and rehabilitation, social skills training and cognitive remediation, in addition to pharmacotherapy. The current book highlights some of the recent research on nosology, etiology, and pathophysiology. Additionally, the book touches on the implications of new research for treatment and genetic counseling. Importantly, because the field is advancing rapidly, no book can be considered the final word or finished product; thus, the availability of open access rapid publication is a mechanism that will help to assure that readers remain current and up-to-date.