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.

 
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