THE
DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER ¨C DILEMMAS FOR THE SOLO
PAEDIATRICIAN
Adsett Don B
99 Lindsay Street,
TOOWOOMBA, 4350 Australia
Greater awareness of the ¡°new morbidity¡± including socialisation
and communication disabilities has led to a burgeoning of the number of
cases of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in Western societies. Within the education system,
rationalisation of services devoted to children with ¡°special needs¡± has
created a large demand for diagnostic labelling of children with such
problems. In Australia, the
solo general paediatrician is often to play an important role in the
identification and verification of this condition. An audit of practice details in the
year 2000 of a solo paediatrician in a non-metropolitan centre provides
insight into the extent and difficulty of this clinical dilemma. Of 538 new cases seen 39 (7.2%)
were diagnosed with ASD. 33
were diagnosed with Asperger¡¯s Syndrome, 6 with autism. Demographic details including age
at diagnosis are presented.
Methods of diagnosis, parental acceptance (30 out of 39),
concordance with educational assessment and confirmation rates (28 out of
33) are discussed. Response to
medications used is analysed.
Not only are the difficulties and merits of embracing the diagnosis
discussed but also a heightened awareness of the problem is generated.