Essential Clinical Guide to Understanding and Treating Autism

FRED R. VOLKMAR, M.D., is the Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology at the Yale University School of Medicine and the former Director of the Center. He is the primary author of the American Psychiatric Associations DSM-IV section on Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Dr. Volkmar has directed Autism research at Yale and the coauthor of a number of books, including Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders, 4th edition (Wiley, 2013). The mentor of several hundred students, he has a strong interest in bringing research knowledge to primary care providers and to parents and teachers. LISA A. WIESNER, M.D., is a pediatrician in private practice in Orange, Connecticut. She is a graduate of Harvard College and Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric training at Yale New Haven Hospital and a fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at Yale. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor of pediatrics at Yale and the co-author with Dr. Volkmar of A Practical Guide to Autism: What Every Parent, Family Member, and Teacher needs to Know (Wiley, 2009).

• PREFACE viiCHAPTER 1 What Is Autism: Diagnostic Concepts, Causes, and Current Research 1CHAPTER 2 Screening and Diagnostic Assessment 25CHAPTER 3 Approaches to Providing Medical Care 49CHAPTER 4 Frequent Medical Conditions and Problems 67CHAPTER 5 Overview of Educational Programs and Interventions 93CHAPTER 6 Securing Services 121CHAPTER 7 Autism in Infants and Preschool Children 145CHAPTER 8 School-Age Children 171CHAPTER 9 Adolescents and Adults 201CHAPTER 10 Behavioral and Psychiatric Problems: Issues and Interventions 219CHAPTER 11 Considering Medications for Behavior and Mental Health Problems 245CHAPTER 12 Considering Complementary and Alternative Treatments 271CHAPTER 13 Supporting Families 291APPENDIX 1 Diagnostic Descriptions and Criteria for Autism and Related PervasiveDevelopmental Disorders 309APPENDIX 2 Understanding School and SpecialistAssessment 315GLOSSARY 331INDEX 339