Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management Autism
Epidemiology of autism
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder. This bio-neurological developmental disorder tends to appear mainly before age three (Oller & Oller, 2011). It is the best popular disease for impairing a child's ability to interact and communicate. This lifelong disability tends to affect various development areas including sensory processing, social difficulty and communication significantly. Autism is manifested in various ways such as delayed verbal development, lack of spontaneity and inability to respond to humor.
From recent epidemiological surveys, the worldwide prevalence of autism is at a median of 60 cases per 1000 people (Steinman, 2014). Moreover, autism averages at 4:1 male to female ratio. Since 1980, the number of kids known to have autism has been increasing dramatically partly because of changes in diagnostic practice. However, we cannot rule out environmental variables when talking about autism. The risk of autism is linked to numerous prenatal variables like diabetes in the mother during pregnancy and advanced parental age.
Protocol for the diagnosis, management, and follow-up care
Pediatric departments are confronted with the challenging job of diagnosing autism early enough (Steinman, 2014). This means they also face the challenge of implementing a timely intervention to realize the best possible results...
There is no specific age for diagnosis autism due to the lack of pathognomonic laboratory test of sign to detect it (Oller & Oller, 2011). Therefore, early diagnosis depends on listening carefully to parents' concerns regarding their child's behavior and development. Studies indicate that most parents are often right about their children's concerns as far as development is concerned. The primary care pediatrician, a child's neurologist or other qualified developmental specialists must investigate any concerns. Management and follow-up care are administered in children as young as three years. In this age group, proper intervention occurs in childcare centers or individualized at home (Steinman, 2014). These interventions entail early development education, behavioral methods, physical therapy, extensive parent training, and structured social play interventions.
Culture and autism care
Cultural principles tend to influence people's feelings and thoughts about themselves and the world around them, including how families deal with autism (Steinman, 2014). Therefore, clinicians must remember that the scale of an autistic diagnosis might overshadow cultural issues, but cultural principles must be considered to initiate a successful treatment plan. Cultural values might determine which treatment objectives people will accept and which objectives are considered as vital (Oller & Oller,…
