This week, Bobbi Conner talks with Dr. Rosmary Ros-Demarize about the importance of early therapy for young children with autism. Dr. Ros-Demarize is a clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor in the Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at MUSC.
TRANSCRIPT:
Conner: I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio with Health Focus here at the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Early diagnosis and intervention for young children with autism symptoms greatly improve long term outcomes. Doctor Rosmary Ros-Demarize is here to talk about the details. Doctor Ros-Demarize is a clinical psychologist and she's an Associate Professor in the Department of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at MUSC. Doctor Ros-Demarize, tell us more about why intervention and therapy is so important for children who are showing signs of autism early in childhood.
Dr. Ros-Demarize: Well, early intervention is essential. It's one of the biggest predictors of positive outcomes for children with any developmental delay, and particularly with autism. Autism is a neurodevelopmental diagnosis, which means that its onset is early in childhood. And really, there are two areas of differences in people with autism. The first is social communication differences. The second area is what we call repetitive or restrictive patterns of behaviors or interests.
Conner: What are some of the possible autism symptoms that a parent might notice in early childhood.
Dr. Ros-Demarize: The symptoms that families notice more frequently early on are delays in their child's communication. Parents might notice that their child isn't engaging with them in the way that they would expect, and that can include not making eye contact as consistently as they would expect or returning smiles regularly, as well as the way in which they communicate verbally and non-verbally. Non-verbal communication can include things like gestures. They may notice that their child isn't pointing to things that they want to request or waving bye. We also see that parents are noticing some repetitive body movements, like hand flapping, or some pretty intense sensory sensitivities or aversions.
Conner: And what's the next step for parents if they do have some concerns?
Dr. Ros-Demarize: As soon as parents are noticing some of these behaviors or having concerns about their child's development, they should definitely speak to their pediatrician about these concerns and potentially get referrals to services like BabyNet, which is our early intervention program in the state. And parents can also self-refer to this program as well. They conduct developmental evaluations. And if your child qualifies, they can receive home based services. And these services are available for children from birth to three years of age.
Conner: And what type of therapy is specifically helpful for young children who might have symptoms of autism?
Dr. Ros-Demarize: So, before a diagnosis of autism is even made, several therapies can be helpful. Speech therapy is really helpful for supporting children's communication. Occupational therapies are helpful for those adaptive or self-help independence related skills, and parent child interaction therapy can also be useful for behavior management. Once children have a diagnosis of autism, Applied Behavior Analysis is a really useful therapy that's indicated for children with autism.
Conner: Doctor Ros-Demarize, thanks for talking with us about autism in early childhood.
Dr. Ros-Demarize: You're very welcome. Thank you for having me.
Conner: From the radio studio for the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, I'm Bobbi Conner for South Carolina Public Radio.
Health Focus transcripts are intended to accurately represent the original audio version of the program; however, some discrepancies or inaccuracies may exist. The audio format serves as the official record of Health Focus programming.
