ATLANTA (AP) - In a small room
similar to a doctor's office, Marlaina Dreher broke into applause as her
5-year-old son, Brandon, grabbed a red plastic spoon filled with pureed
lasagna and fed himself. "Good job taking a bite, buddy," she
said, joining in as her son banged his hands on a nearby table. "Good
job putting your spoon back." Brandon is autistic, and he's come a
long way in his seven weeks in the pediatric feeding disorder program
at the Marcus Autism Center. He used to eat only crackers and McDonald's
fries, but meal time is no longer a constant battle.
"I couldn't have imagined being here
seven weeks ago," Dreher said. "My husband, Sean, and I have said,
`What if we had come here two years ago? Where would we be now?"'
That's the heart of a partnership
between the center and the Georgia Department of Early Care and
Learning. It aims to train a small group of state and contract employees
to work with day care operators and pre-K providers throughout Georgia
to identify the early warning signs of autism and support parents. Those
involved in the effort point to research that shows that symptoms of
the autism spectrum disorder, which affects some 1 in 88 children
nationwide, can be detected as early as the first two years of life and
that early intervention is key.
"Today, if I get a phone call and
someone says they've got an 8-year-old who is unable to speak and is in
need of our help, I know we can help that child. But we cannot help that
child nearly as much as we could have if we got that same phone call
when that child was 2," said Don Mueller, executive director of the
Marcus Autism Center. "The associated disabilities of autism are not
inevitable. They don't have to happen in many kids. We can intervene and
change the course."
Marcus Autism Center, which operates
under the umbrella of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, is one of three
institutions designated as an Autism Center of Excellence by the
National Institutes of Health. The center's effort with the state
Department of Early Care and Learning is part of a broader goal to
enhance community outreach and build community resources for children
with autism and their families. Center officials hope to eventually
expand the partnership to other states and are working with federal
officials to bring their work to Head Start programs nationwide.
Recently, a group of 15 state and
contract employees who work with child care and pre-K providers gathered
at the autism center to begin a yearlong training course. Another group
began training in August. To start, each participant will identify at
least two day care or pre-K programs to work with. They'll work with
teachers on how to detect red flags, share concerns with parents and
develop lesson plans tailored to a child's needs.
"We don't want to see a whole
generation of children coming to the Marcus Autism Center," Dr. Jennifer
Stapel-Wax, the center's director of infant and toddler clinical
research operations, said during the training.
Research has shown intervention has
the greatest impact if it begins before the age of 3, and experts
estimate that a child with autism needs at least 25 hours per week of
intensive work on behavioral issues. And treatment can be costly.
Jennie Couture, who oversees the
training program for the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning,
said treatment goes beyond therapists: "It's families, the community,
teachers, the other folks the child comes into contact with. When you
start with a very early diagnosis and identification, you can get all
those folks up to speed to support that child for all those hours of
engagement."
At the core of autism are
developmental disabilities that affect the ability to communicate,
understand language, play and relate to others. Research has identified a
number of genes associated with the disorder, but diagnosis is based on
behavioral evaluations - no medical test is available.
That's part of why the Georgia
program focuses on warning signs. In the recent training, Stapel-Wax
presented videos of two children, each about 16 months old. One
demonstrated normal social development, the other early signs of autism.
In the first video, the child interacted with the clinician, looked
frequently at his mother, pointed to bubbles being blown in the air and
set aside the bottle after trying to twist off the top. The second child
looked at his mother but then ignored her and the clinician, becoming
fixated on the bottle and flipping it over. Researchers say children
with autism can tend to focus more on objects than people.
"Children who can't make eye
contact, who spin or twirl or rock, and who can't make their needs known
- that is why some people feel that having autism is a death sentence
because it's so devastating," Stapel-Wax said in an interview. "But
we're saying that is not the case. If you intervene early, you can make a
difference."
Mandy Smith, an inclusion
coordinator with Quality Care for Children, said the training will go a
long way to helping her and her counterparts across Georgia supports
pre-K teachers and day care providers.
"A lot of child care providers don't
have a lot of education and background working with children with
autism," Smith said. "I feel like it will give us more tools to educate
them to be better able to work with our children and to practice early
intervention."
The Georgia early learning program
is being funded in part with $199,500 in federal grant money.
Commissioner Bobby Cagle, who oversees the Department of Early Care and
Learning, said it's a good investment in the community.
"It's devastating to hear that your
child has an autism spectrum disorder, but it's even more devastating to
hear that and not have anywhere to go," Cagle said, noting that access
to specialists in rural areas can be a challenge. "For those people, it
is even more important that we work on developing these resources and
developing a network of professionals around the state that can help
once the disorder is diagnosed."
By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY
Associated Press, September 21, 2013
Source: http://minnesota.publicradio.org
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