Commentary
Improving Quality Care for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Doctors Office or Outpatient Clinics
Shafiqa Mohammed Al-Sharif1*, Suba Sivakumar2 and Manikkavasaghar Thiruvasahar21Emergency Department, King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2Bracebridge Court, London, UK
- Corresponding Author:
- Shafiqa Mohammed Al-Sharif
Emergency Department
King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital
Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
E-mail: shafq2020@yahoo.com
Received April 22, 2016; Accepted April 25, 2016; Published April 27, 2016
Citation: Al-Sharif SM, Sivakumar S and Thiruvasahar M (2016) Improving Quality Care for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Doctor’s Office or Outpatient Clinics. J Preg Child Health 3:253. doi:10.4172/2376-127X.1000253
Copyright: © 2016 Al-Sharif SM, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Psychological problems, communication challenges and cognitive impairment are often present in children with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD). When children with ASD require medical treatment, healthcare teams’ inability to access relevant medical and behavioral information, lack of awareness of these challenges, and poor preparedness to deal with unusual and unexpected behaviours can lead to suboptimal care. Children’s behavioral issues can hinder proper diagnosis and necessary medical procedures that need to be performed by health care professionals. This paper briefly describes the behavioral and psychological issues in children with ASD and raises awareness for interventional measures and best practices that could be adapted by health care professionals at family practice to improve quality care for children with ASD.