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Autism Screening
October 19, 2009 |
Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is a serious lifelong disorder. Many children
with ASD start showing some warning signs and problems before the age of 3.
“If you show them something and they don’t interact, they go off and look at objects
instead of your face and play with toys and use them in unusual ways, then you need to get your child evaluated,” says The Children's Hospital child and adolescent
psychiatrist, Mary Krouk, D.O.
The Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald Charities have teamed up to bring free
monthly autism screenings to Lee County toddlers. The first screening will take
place in the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile at Cape Coral Hospital on November 6th.
“Its absolutely free. It’s confidential. It’s called the M-Chat. It’s a modified
childhood screen for autism and it’s a screen. It will not make a diagnosis. Once
a screen comes back positive, we’ll give parents information,” explains Krouk.
There are many different forms of autism which is why it’s important for children
to be screened and treated individually.
“It’s helpful, especially for families
who don’t know where to turn. They know something is wrong and they want help, like everyone does for their child,” adds Krouk.
Some signs of autism may include a lack of social skills, inability to make eye
contact, delays in speech, and repetitive language or behavior. “At one year, if
you are not seeing your child turn when you call their name and you know they hear
and you know you are in a distance where they should be responding and they are
not being oppositional and they’re not angry at that time and just not listening,
then that’s a big red flag,” warns Krouk.
Again, the first free autism screening will take place at Cape Coral Hospital on
November 6th from 9:30 to 2. Call 985-3608 for more information.
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