Falling under the radar with Autism and understanding the spectrum

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Falling under the radar with Autism and understanding the spectrum

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Some children might fall under the radar when it comes to getting the autism diagnosis. This can happen with girls who might have some symptoms of autism, but not come to as much attention because they might have a little bit more language than the boys do. This can also happen in the milder cases of autism, what's been previously called Asperger's by the DSM-IV. So these children might have timed language development and yet have difficulties later on with the pragmatic or social use of language or have significant difficulties with typical play and social interaction as they become a little bit older. My belief is that if the child is not having significant functional deficits and they're exhibiting only extremely mild symptoms that might be shared with the autism spectrum diagnosis and they're able to do fine in school and things like that, I feel that it's better not to do too much therapy, because these children might feel like there's something wrong with them when they're actually able to function. However, children who later develop some kind of functional difficulties or have trouble in a social setting might be able to use some kind of intervention. It seems to me that it's usually the children who have milder symptoms that fall under the radar. The children with the more severe symptoms tend to really be brought to medical attention sooner.

View Jane Tavyev Asher, MD's video on Falling under the radar with Autism and understanding the spectrum...

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Jane Tavyev Asher, MD

Division of Child Neurology - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Dr. Jane Tavyev Asher is a board certified Child Neurologist and Director of the Division of Child Neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.  Upon attaining her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, she completed residency/ fellowship training in Child Neurology and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities at Baylor College of Medicine/ Texas Children’s Hospital, where her clinical training focused on behavioral neurology, specializing in autism and other developmental disorders, and her research focused on epigenetic factors in autism.  She currently maintains a clinical practice at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she sees patients with a variety of neurologic conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorders, developmental delay, ADHD, learning disabilities, tics, headaches, and cognitive/ behavioral management in neuromuscular disorders.  She holds an academic/ research appointment as Assistant Professor at UCLA in the Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences.  Her current research interest remains in the area of autism.  Dr. Tavyev Asher is proud to contribute to the training of the next generation of physicians including those specializing in Pediatrics, Child Psychiatry, and Child and Adult Neurology, and she enjoys giving talks on various neurologic topics locally and nationally.  She is a member of the Child Neurology Society, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UCLA CART (Center for Autism Research and Treatment), and The Help Group-UCLA Autism Research Alliance.  She also serves on the Advisory Board of Healthy Child Healthy Child Healthy World.  She enjoys art, music, yoga, skiing, and relaxing with her family.

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Transcription: 
Some children might fall under the radar when it comes to getting the autism diagnosis. This can happen with girls who might have some symptoms of autism, but not come to as much attention because they might have a little bit more language than the boys do. This can also happen in the milder cases of autism, what's been previously called Asperger's by the DSM-IV. So these children might have timed language development and yet have difficulties later on with the pragmatic or social use of language or have significant difficulties with typical play and social interaction as they become a little bit older. My belief is that if the child is not having significant functional deficits and they're exhibiting only extremely mild symptoms that might be shared with the autism spectrum diagnosis and they're able to do fine in school and things like that, I feel that it's better not to do too much therapy, because these children might feel like there's something wrong with them when they're actually able to function. However, children who later develop some kind of functional difficulties or have trouble in a social setting might be able to use some kind of intervention. It seems to me that it's usually the children who have milder symptoms that fall under the radar. The children with the more severe symptoms tend to really be brought to medical attention sooner.