Autism Spectrum Disorder - Research Paper Example

? Autism Spectrum Disorders Autism Spectrum Disorders Treatment recommendations discussed in the parameters for Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) include CBT Program, SR Program, the clinician helping the family in obtaining appropriate, evidence based and structured educational and behavioral interventions for children with ASD, offering pharmacotherapy to children with ASD where there is a specific target symptom or comorbid condition. Further recommendations require the clinician to maintain an active role in long term treatment planning and family support as well as support of the individual and clinicians specifically making enquiries about the use of alternative/complementary treatments, and be prepared to discuss their risk and potential benefits. Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) as defined by the DSM IV is characterized by qualitative impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities. According to the recommendations presented by the articles, there are limited few ways of treating the disorder. Although the authors have proposed a number of ways of treating the disorder, these are not adequate in treating this disorder. Mostly focusing on the behavioral, communication, and educational interventions, these do not cover all the aspects necessary for a child’s full recovery. According to recommendations by American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (n.d.) the clinician should help the family obtain appropriate evidence-based and structured educational and behavioral interventions for children with ASD. He argues that children with ASD can receive pharmacotherapy where there is a specific target or comorbid condition. Sung et al (2011) presents two methods of treatment for the condition; CBT program and the SR program. None of these methods majors on the administration of medicine to the patient, but rather on imparting the child physiologically. Personally, I am of the opinion that further research should focus on more effective ways of treating the condition. A child has little knowledge on most the factors that cause anxiety and thus, changing from such a trend would prove a challenge to the physician. This necessitates further research into more reliable methods of treating the condition. It is challenging to treat autism spectrum disorder. The fact that most of the people affected by this condition are children even complicates the whole treatment process more. Increasingly, more attention is required to help a child acquire full recovery from the disorder. However, approaches presented as the means essential for treatment are inadequate. There is the need for child suffering from this disorder to receive more counseling. Not only does it provide the child with the required courage to face the situation, it also helps one understand that they are normal and suffer from a common condition (Leskovec, et al. 2008). Even if there were administration of treatment to the child without factoring in benefits of counseling, efforts in treating the condition would be worthless. The child requires more support, morally. To achieve this, physicians require more understanding of the child’s private life to help them overcome the various troubles affecting them. Thus, taking part in the daily activities of the child to understand causes of their condition is one of the recommendations. Counseling and offering moral support to the child is the second recommendation for treating the disorder. Many factors cause autism spectrum disorder in children. While assessing the disorder and administering treatment to the child, it is necessary to address these factors. Among these factors, include the child’s cultural, economic, racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and religious among other background factors. Assessing the condition as well as administering treatment for the child should start with these very factors. Addressing the causal factors for the child’s disorder from this perspective increases the chances of the child undergoing full recovery. Many chances indicate that these are the causal factors for the child’s disorders. As such, culture, economic, racial, and ethnic as well as gender factors would form the basis for my initial assessment. There is a high likelihood that a child faces discrimination in the school based on these orientations. Especially culture, race and ethnicity, these are the biggest factors leading to discrimination among the children. Economic status of the child and the background status would also form part of my focus since these too lead to discrimination. Discrimination and scorn potentially lead to increased levels of anxiety among the children. This means that by addressing these factors adequately, I not only diagnose the causes of the child’s disorders, but also help me in prescribing the kind of treatment required for the child. In diagnosing and treating any type of disorders, a number of ethical issues are likely to arise. The approach used by the practitioner in either diagnosing the disease, proposing treatment as well as handling any related issues with the client forms part of the ethical considerations in treating a patient. Confidentiality is one of the ethical issues that are likely to arise during the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (Allen, 2008). As a medical requirement standard, a medical practitioner should confine in the medical conditions of a client. Yet, they have to carry out an investigation on the factors that leads to this condition in a client. This is not possible without the practitioner having to make enquiries on the life of the patient. This requires the medical practitioner to give up some information in order to acquire more information. Telling the truth is yet another form of ethical issues likely to arise. Especially with the understanding that some cultures do not allow telling strangers, their problems and those they face forms a big challenge to the medical practitioner. Trying to acquire relevant and valid information from such patients would prove difficult. However, making it clear that their recovery depended on their full disclosure of true information would win trust and soften their stand. In the article “Effects of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy on Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial” compares the effects of a 16 week cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) program and a Social Recreational (SR) program on anxiety in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The study involved randomly selected seventy children aged 9-16 years old assigned to either programs. The Spence Child Anxiety Scale and the Clinical Global Impression Scale used to measure severity scale were used in measuring the level of anxiety of every participating child. According to their results, these findings, a number of factors influence the level of autism in children. These factors include regular structured setting, consistent therapists, social exposure and the use of autism-friendly strategies. These form an effective component of an effective framework in the management of anxiety in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. The article “Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder” assesses the patterns of delay and reflection of deviance behaviour in the development of the social, communicative and cognitive skills arising at a person’s early life stages. The research involved initial inclusive searches. Results obtained were reviewed through the abstracts and 186 of them used for full evaluation for the study. Assessment measures as presented by the article presents a number of recommendations. The first recommendation indicates the developmental assessment of young children and the psychiatric assessment of all children should routinely include questions about autism spectrum disorder. The second asserts that If the screening indicates significant autism spectrum disorder symptomatology, a thorough diagnostic evaluation should be performed to determine the presence of ASD. Information in these articles both agrees and expands on the information contained in the Practice Parameters. The articles are up to date as a requirement by the practice parameters. The fact that they meet the practice parameter requirements, these articles are up to date and agree with them. Further, they add more information on the treatment If I was treating a child with autism spectrum disorder, these two articles would influence the treatment approaches that I take. Since the approaches proposed in these articles have been tested and ascertained as being efficient in treating the autism disorder among the children, I would use some of the proposed approaches in the treatment of the disease. The information contained in these articles is valid and up to date, and thus, would be appropriate information to use in the treatment process. Additionally, the diagnosis procedure proposed by the authors of the articles would help in the diagnosing the disease. References Allen, R. L. (2008). Autism Spectrum Disorders: Neurobiology and current assessment practices. Psychology In The Schools,45(10), 905-917. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (n.d.).Practice Parameter for the Assessment and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Leskovec, T. J., Rowles, B. M., & Findling, R. L. (2008). Pharmacological Treatment Options for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Harvard Review Of Psychiatry (Taylor & Francis Ltd), 16(2), 97-112. doi:10.1080/10673220802075852 Sung, M., Ooi, Y., Goh, T., Pathy, P., Fung, D., Ang, R., & ... Lam, C. (2011). Effects of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Anxiety in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Child Psychiatry & Human Development,42(6), 634-649. doi:10.1007/s10578-011-0238-1 Read More