The Autism News | English


BALTIMORE – All young children with epilepsy should also undergo screening for autism spectrum disorders and developmental delay, a study has shown.

In a pair of pediatric epilepsy units, 77% of children screened positive for development delay, and 36% screened positive for autism. About one-third of those children were previously undiagnosed.

Because the conditions often occur concurrently, a screening of children 5 years and younger can make a life-changing difference, Anne Berg, Ph.D., said at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society.

“Our hope is that we can begin catching these problems earlier to get beneficial interventions in place, which, hopefully, will lead to better long-term outcomes for these children,” she said at a press briefing.

Dr Berg of Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, said that allied health professionals are well positioned to take charge of a screening program, leaving physicians free to concentrate on the children’s medical needs.

“We suspect that pediatricians are following the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines and getting these children to neurologists, but once the children arrive, the pediatricians think the neurologist will do the screening,” Dr. Berg noted. However, “the neurologist assumes the pediatrician has done the screening. Other professionals, like nurse practitioners and child development specialists, can help to fill in that gap.”

Pediatric nurse practitioners Catherine Dezort and Breanne Fisher, also of Children’s Memorial, undertook the study along with Dr Berg. They examined developmental status in 44 children with epilepsy who were seen at the hospital’s ketogenic diet clinic or EEG monitoring unit.

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