This unique resource is designed to be a practical, user-friendly guide for pediatricians, primary care providers, and all healthcare providers who work with children with autism spectrum disorder. Diagnosing and Caring for the Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder offers state-of-the art instruction to clinicians on how to recognize, diagnose and assist children with autism spectrum disorders, from early in life to transition to adulthood. This book will also delve into how to support pediatric patients by working with families, and discuss how to best interact with and support these families. The book opens with a comprehensive introduction of ASD and obstacles to diagnosis and common myths. Section Two is devoted to the early recognition of atypical development and reviews the steps in diagnosing autism, including the evaluation, the diagnostic visit, the developmental exam, and the discussion of findings with parents. Section Three covers treatment and interventions for the autism spectrum and includes a discussion on alternative therapies and how to direct parents toward evidence-based or plausible treatments. Section Four and Five addresses special topics that are relevant to the PCP’s or pediatrician’s long-term relationship with families, including chapters on anxiety, parents, challenging behaviors and common scenarios that occur across childhood for those who have ASD. Later chapters delve more deeply into providing informed, sensitive care for patients with intersecting identities, and discusses how gender identity and cultural perspective and attitudes can impact the pediatric patient with ASD. Engaging, and written in a conversational style, Diagnosing and Caring for the Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder will be an ideal resource for the pediatrician, primary care provider, and all healthcare providers working with children with ASD, providing concrete, step-by-step methods that readers can incorporate into their own practice.

Offers parents of children with autism spectrum disorder practical advice, strategies, and worksheets to help them manage their child's condition and the impact it has on the family's emotional, financial, and social resources.

Children living in poverty are more likely to have mental health problems, and their conditions are more likely to be severe. Of the approximately 1.3 million children who were recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits in 2013, about 50% were disabled primarily due to a mental disorder. An increase in the number of children who are recipients of SSI benefits due to mental disorders has been observed through several decades of the program beginning in 1985 and continuing through 2010. Nevertheless, less than 1% of children in the United States are recipients of SSI disability benefits for a mental disorder. At the request of the Social Security Administration, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children compares national trends in the number of children with mental disorders with the trends in the number of children receiving benefits from the SSI program, and describes the possible factors that may contribute to any differences between the two groups. This report provides an overview of the current status of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, and the levels of impairment in the U.S. population under age 18. The report focuses on 6 mental disorders, chosen due to their prevalence and the severity of disability attributed to those disorders within the SSI disability program: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, learning disabilities, and mood disorders. While this report is not a comprehensive discussion of these disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability Among Low-Income Children provides the best currently available information regarding demographics, diagnosis, treatment, and expectations for the disorder time course - both the natural course and under treatment.

This comprehensive and readable guide answers the questions commonly asked by parents and carers following a diagnosis of autism, and discusses the challenges that can arise in home life, education and socializing. The authors cover a wide variety of therapies and approaches to autism, providing clear, unbiased information so that families will be able to evaluate different options for themselves. Throughout, the emphasis is on home and family life, and the everyday difficulties encountered by families of autistic children. Caring for a Child with Autism is an informative handbook in association with the National Autistic Society, written for parents with a recently diagnosed autistic child. This is a thorough introduction to autistic spectrum disorders, to be consulted time and time again as new questions arise.

This book provides an understanding of the challenges that individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face in receiving medical care and helps equip medical professionals to overcome these challenges to provide high quality, compassionate medical care to this population. The book is divided into two sections. The first provides a broad perspective, providing background about the health care needs of patients with ASD and potential barriers to care that they may experience, as well as an overview of general principles in the delivery of care for patients with ASD. In the second section, the text focuses on specific medical issues and specialties, taking a systems-based approach to cover every major area of medical care. Each of these chapters discusses the problems in that area of medicine that are commonly encountered in the ASD population and the best approaches to managing these issues. The Massachusetts General Hospital Guide to Medical Care in Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder is the ultimate resource for all physicians, allied health care professionals, medical students, residents, primary care providers, and specialists who treat patients with ASD.