Autism, Developmental and Behavioral Health Services
at Children’s Specialized Hospital
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Developmental and behavioral pediatricians at Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH) assist in the development of treatment plans and may provide recommendations regarding therapies or educational services to help a child reach their full potential. In addition, when appropriate, they may provide medication to improve attention or address specific behavioral changes.
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics counsel children and families with a wide range of developmental conditions including:
- Developmental Delays, including language and fine or gross motor challenges
- Developmental disabilities like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), intellectual disabilities, and cerebral palsy
- Learning disabilities
- Externalizing disorders such as Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Tics, Tourette syndrome, and other habit disorders
- Challenges with activities of daily living, including feeding, complicated toilet-training (enuresis and encopresis), and sleep
Although children may already receive services through Early Intervention or their public school district, school-based evaluations typically do not make medical diagnoses such as ASD or AD/HD. These diagnoses usually require evaluation by a medical provider, such as a developmental pediatrician.
Autism Center of Excellence
Children’s Specialized Hospital’s Center of Excellence for Autism is dedicated to providing comprehensive and compassionate care for our autistic patients and their families. We provide a wide variety of medical and therapeutic diagnostic and treatment services, early intervention, and early developmental screenings. We welcome families to access the services they need to support their child’s development and well-being.
Early screening and early intervention are very important to help children reach their full potential. Possible early signs for ASD include challenges with:
- Adjusting to changes (likes things to be the same)
- Imaginative play
- Loss of skills
- Making eye contact
- Pointing to objects to show interest (looking at objects when another person points to them)
- Sensitivities to sound, texture, light or smells
- Repetitive speech or movements
- Responding to name
- Use of gestures
- Forming Friendships
Our program uses a multidisciplinary approach to treatment including the following services:
- Early Intervention Program (EIP) services are provided primarily in the home for children from birth to three years old who have developmental delays involving two or more of the following areas: cognition; language; fine motor; gross motor; social/emotional; and, self-care. No formal diagnosis is necessary to receive these services.
- Feeding and Nutrition Therapies coordinate specialized speech, occupational, and psychological treatment for children who only eat a restricted range of foods or who have trouble with eating due to sensory, behavioral or motoric difficulties.
- Medical specialists include developmental pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, psychiatrists and physiatrists to help coordinate medical management.
- Occupational Therapy focuses on helping kids participate in everyday life activities including play, eating, bathing, and dressing, as well as participation in school, family, and community functions. Therapists may also help address sensory issues which are common with ASD.
- Physical Therapy focuses on improving posture, alignment, breathing, strength, movement coordination, and motor planning.
- Psychology offers individual and family therapy services to help improve child and adolescent behavior, mood management, sibling and family issues, reactions to the diagnosis, and/or advocacy issues.
- Speech and Language Therapy services are provided to build the child’s ability to follow directions, understand language, communicate, take turns, have a reciprocal conversation, and improve nonverbal communication (such as eye contact and joint attention).
- Social Skills Groups are available for kids ages five through adolescence with ASD who are high functioning. The groups focus on building peer friendships and typically run weekly for a series of weeks. Kids who participate in the social skills groups generally show significant improvement in social skills and reduction in problem behaviors.