Isabelle Mawby, BS (4th Year Medical Student) and David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA-D
Association for Science in Autism Treatment

Articles of Interest to Medical ProfessionalsCountless pediatricians and other medical providers serve the autism community, and the onset of this relationship often predates a diagnosis. Supporting children with autism and their families can be both incredibly rewarding and at times overwhelming. In turn, the Association for Science in Autism Treatment is fully committed to supporting this critically important and longstanding role with your patients. On this page, you will find an array of resources that will help you keep apprised of the state of the science with respect to the scores of treatments for autism, many of which are biomedical in nature. Our resources can guide your efforts to support families of newly diagnosed children and families of individuals with autism across the lifespan alike.

Clinical Signs and Diagnosis

General pediatricians are often responsible for identifying the clinical signs of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as well as initiating autism screening and diagnosis. Early diagnosis and intervention are the best predictors of optimal outcomes for children with ASD, thus it is crucial that pediatricians remain up to date on the clinical signs and diagnosis of ASD.

Interventions and Treatment Options

When recommending therapy and treatment options to patients with ASD, it is important that medical providers be informed and guided by evidence-based medicine. This section provides information pertaining to the treatment of ASD.

In addition to numerous treatment summaries, please note that we have more extensive articles on a variety of interventions about which your patients may inquire.

Multidisciplinary Collaboration

As you know, providers from multiple disciplines provide services to their families hopefully congruent with their scopes of practice and competence. Collaboration is essential to maximize outcomes. We have several articles that address these topics.

Working with Families: Clinician Tools

Effective communication skills with families and advocacy for evidence-based practice are important skills for all medical providers. This section is specifically aimed at successfully assisting clinicians in communicating with families of children with ASD.

Information for Families: General Parenting Resources

Medical providers often leave dedicated time in their clinic visits to answer parent questions Thus, it is critical for providers to have the appropriate resources to be able to answer common parent questions about ASD and provide further resources for families.

Information for Families: Health and Hygiene

Health and hygiene are topics that are frequently discussed at primary care physician visits. This section provides resources specific to access to care, health considerations, and hygiene. Pleasenote that we have some articles related to adolescents that are shared below.

Information for Families: Dental Care

Oral health may be challenging for individuals with ASD. These articles provide medical professionals with information to discuss with patients and their families to help make visits to the dentist more manageable and successful.

Information for Families: Safety

Safety in the home and community is often a significant concern among parents and caregivers of children with ASD. This section provides resources for parents to address safety concerns specifically pertaining to ASD.

Information for Families: Language and Social Skills

Language and social skill development are typically impacted by ASD and are often a topic of concern at doctor appointments. Therefore, we have compiled information on social skills and language that physicians may offer to help guide parents of children on the autism spectrum.

Information for Families: Managing the Impact of COVID-19

The pandemic upended service delivery and education of millions of individuals with autism. We are proud to have published a double, dedicated issue in April 2020 to help families manage both the abrupt changes and enduring challenges. Some of our articles are shared below.

Information for Families: Adolescence

ASAT provides multiple articles to assist clinicians in helping their patients understand some of the unique challenges and experiences of adolescents.

Information for Families: Adults

We are fully committed to sharing information across the lifespan. The transition from adolescence to adulthood can be a challenging both clinically and emotionally for both individuals and their families.

Some Quick Links

We hope you find this page useful. At ASAT, we believe that the critical importance of competent medical practitioners on collaborative teams supporting individuals with autism cannot be overstated. A pediatrician brings vital information useful for all aspects of intervention planning and implementation. As we publish more relevant content for pediatricians and other medical providers through our monthly newsletter and website, we will update this resource list.

Citation for this article:

Mawby, I., & Celiberti, D. (2022). A non-exhaustive list of previously published but relevant ASAT articles of interest to medical professionals. Science in Autism Treatment, 19(11).

 

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