Editorial Review
Although children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be as healthy as other children, keeping them that way can be a challenge. Routine doctor visits, for instance, can be especially trying for children with ASDs due to sensory sensitivities or communication difficulties. Issues such as sleep problems, unusual eating habits, and impulsive or aggressive behaviors can also threaten their health. Volkmar of the Yale University Child Study Center, and Wiesner, a pediatrician, experts in the field of autism, offer parents accessible and authoritative information for dealing with these challenges and understanding what’s most important to their child’s medical, nutritional, and behavioral well-being.
HEALTHCARE FOR CHILDREN ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM covers the following topics:
Handling doctor visits and hospitalizations
Growth and nutrition
Safety issues at home, school, and in the community
Sleep
Seizures
Dental care
Sensory issues
Medications and behavior
Adolescent issues
Behavioral deterioration
Complementary and alternative treatments
These pertinent subjects apply to most kids no matter where they fall on the autism spectrum. Issues are covered from birth through adolescence.
Parents can find answers to help them understand symptoms and behaviors, evaluate medications or alternative therapies, communicate with healthcare professionals, and deal with many other healthcare concerns. Based on the authors’ years of clinical experience with hundreds of children with autism, this guide is an essential reference that should be on the shelf of every family with a child with an ASD.
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Customer Reviews
Needs better editing 
2006-03-29
For any parent or professional seeking a book which will lead to guidance for specialized medical care, I do not recommend this book. The first chapters are very general and could apply to any child, with autism or not. Many of the medical suggestions are common sense parenting. In the chapter on "Safety" and in several others, it seems to be assumed that the autistic child is mobile. No mention is made of helmets or special equipment.
The mentions of referrals to specialists such as genetics, and opthamology do not give any concrete guidance as to what specific tests or outcomes are to be expected or conducted and I saw no mention that a Pediatric opthamologist might be preferred over a general one. I want to know what an opthamologist should be doing...what parts of the eyes or neural processing of sight can be tested and how and what will it mean. I want to know what gene sequences should be tested for assurance that the problem is autism and not genetic.
I found the section on neuropsychological/educational/developmental testing informative, but we are not at that stage yet.
What I did find especially distressing in a text/reader was litle mention of the importance of accepting and expecting delayed response times to stimuli. Current research in education suggests allowing a 5 second interval between command or stimuli and response because of delayed neural processing by autistic and PDD students. I have adapted my expectations with my nephew and find that he is actually responding just not a normal speed.
I found the question answer format of chapter review insulting. Summaries would have been better. Finally, even though the authors are from the U.S. much of the book reads as though it is for a British audience. The use of "she" to refer to the autistic child is perplexing as males are more likely to be affected than females.
I expected more due to the five star ratings, but was sorry for the purchase.
By a leading medical authority on autism 
2004-05-15
Fred Volkmar is a leading medical authority on autism and director of the Developmental Disabilities Clinic and Research Program at the Yale University Child Study Center. Lisa Wiesner is a pediatrician with a special focus on pediatric autism. Dr. Volkmar and Dr. Wiesner draw upon their considerable expertise and experience in Healthcare For Children On The Autism Spectrum: A Guide To Medical, Nutritional, And Behavior Issues to provide up to date and fully accessible information for parents and care-takers on children with autism ranging from birth through adolescence. The subject areas comprehensively range from growth and nutrition, seizures, dental care, sensory issues, adolescent issues, developmental deterioration, and ASD diagnosis, to sleep, complementary and alternative treatments, safety issues, medications and behavior, doctor and hospital visits, raising a healthy child, and providing parents with an overview of autism and related conditions. Healthcare For Children On The Autism Spectrum is vitally important and urgently recommended reading for any parent or caretaker charged with the responsibilities arising from children with any degree of autistic behavior.
Fills a real need 2004-02-07
I am a physician and have looked for years for a book that would talk about medical care for children with autism and have now found it. This book is going to be a great resource for parents and teachers; it offers some good information to health care providers as well. It is balanced. Offers good coverage of a range of issues. The section on insurance is great - I don't know why the authors didn't put it early on in the book (they put it as an appendix)! The chapter on alternative treatments is very well done. Many great tips for managing office visits, the ER, hospitals, etc. Great reading list -Worth every penny!
a great source of practical knowledgeable information 2004-02-07
This book provides a great deal of practical information for the parent of a child with autism. Routine health care visits and dental appointments and such can be incredibly stressful for children with autism and their parents, and the book provides practical advice on these issues. Another helpful chapter was that on using medication or other kinds of non medical treatments that you can find on the internet. There's so much information out there that it helps to have two authoritative voices helping one to sort these things through.
