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International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience | ISSN: 1522-4821 | Volume 20

November 26-27, 2018 | Los Angeles, USA

Psychiatry, Mental Health Nursing and Healthcare

World Summit on

Applied Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental Health

International Conference on

Introduction to autism spectrum disorders

Janani Venugopalakrishnan

Stanford University School of Medicine, USA

he objective of the talk is to discuss epidemiology, the varied presentation of Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), criteria for

diagnosis, treatment, recent research and discuss resources available to families. Autism spectrum disorders is a common

neurodevelopmental disorder with social deficits including difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication and restricted

repetitive interests, or behaviors. Hyper or hyposensitivity to sensory stimuli is also commonly seen. It is a heterogeneous disorder,

causation of which can be idiopathic or attributed to genetic mutations, deletions, prematurity, pregnancy or birth complications

and in utero infections. The most recent prevalence of ASD according to the Center for Disease Control is 1 in 59 children as

opposed to 1 in 68 children two years ago which presents increasing medical and social implications. Autism is associated with several

comorbid disorders including mood and behavioral challenges like anxiety, depression, aggression, disruptive behaviors, Attention

deficit hyperactivity disorder and insomnia which often require detailed evaluation and treatment. Intellectual disability, delayed

milestones, speech and language deficits, gross motor and fine motor difficulties are other challenges. Detailed clinical evaluation

and neuropsychiatric testing may be required to establish the diagnosis. There is no single treatment for ASD, however, an array

of interventions inclusive of early behavioral therapy, speech, occupational therapies, exercises and parent training are found to be

helpful. Medications including SSRIs, second-generation antipsychotics, alpha agonists, mood stabilizers and stimulants are used to

help with the associated conditions. Recent medication trials with N-Acetyl-Cysteine, Vasopressin, Oxytocin, have been promising.

School-based interventions inclusive of 504 plans and Individualized education plans (IEP) are beneficial to the student with ASD.

Int J Emerg Ment Health, Volume 20

DOI: 10.4172/1522-4821-C5-024