The situation of children with autism spectrum disorders in the context of the need to ensure access to early diagnosis and the possibility of prompt therapy was presented in a position paper by the Institute for Health Protection, which was discussed at a conference in Warsaw on March 28.
Starting therapy at school age too late
- When I began my work, school-age children over the age of seven were coming to therapy. Despite the efforts of the entire team, we were not able to help them in the way we wanted. We were not able to effectively teach them the simplest activities, such as dressing or washing," said Dr. Anna Budzinska, director of the Institute for Child Development Assistance in Gdansk, who has been involved in the diagnosis and early therapy of autism spectrum disorders in children since the 1990s. - Thanks to research work, exchange of experience with specialized foreign centers, we have determined that in order to help people on the autism spectrum, it is necessary to start therapy as early as possible, she noted. - Currently, we start it at the age of two and a half years and we see that the results are really very good. This is also confirmed by scientific studies published by me and my colleagues at the Institute for Assisted Child Development on the effectiveness of the therapeutic interventions carried out, she added.
Meanwhile, in Poland, about 70% of children with suspected autism spectrum disorders receive a diagnosis after the age of three, which negatively affects the effectiveness of therapy, the development of the child's cognitive, speech and adaptive skills, and the quality of life of the child, parents and caregivers.
Expanding the balance sheet of a two-year-old
Prof. Teresa Jackowska, president of the Polish Pediatric Society, spoke about the need to expand the balance sheet of a child at the age of two to include the evaluation of signals that could indicate the presence of autism spectrum disorders. - European data show that we are the first country with the highest number of suicide attempts in children, so it is necessary to detect any disorders that could lead to this as early as possible, she alarmed. In her opinion, the frequency of balance sheets should be higher. - Balance sheets in the first six months of life are conducted quite regularly, because they are related to vaccinations, then there is a visit in the ninth month, then between the first and second years of life 2-3 times related to vaccinations and a balance sheet of a two-year-old. However, the next one is only in the fourth year of life, which means nothing happens for two years, and this needs to be changed," she recommended. She added that the Section on Medicine and Child Development of the Polish Academy of Sciences has also set a goal to change child health balances.
Dr. Iwona Artemiuk, a pediatrician at the World Health Medical Center in Warsaw, reported that the World Health medical operator at its centers has implemented screening children for autism spectrum disorders as part of primary care during the two-year-old's balance sheet as part of the nationwide World Health for All project. - This is a screening that takes about 15 minutes. And so far, including the pilot, we hav...
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