With autism spectrum rates soaring, Jack Scott wants to make sure there's early diagnosis and intervention for children as young as 2, usually boys.
"If parents aren't alert to fussy behavior, these kids become an expert and a lot of it is behavioral not medical per se," said Scott, executive director of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities at Florida Atlantic University. "We can teach parents the key strategies to deal with problem behavior. It doesn't go away, but it can be made better. If parents handle it altogether wrong, it just gets worse."
First, tell people who you are.
CARD is state funded. We received a little over $1 million to serve five counties from Palm Beach County north. We're part of FAU in the Department of Exceptional Student Education. We're headquartered in Boca Raton, but we have offices in Jupiter and Port St. Lucie. We serve 3,500 families.
What disorders do you mostly address?
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), which includes Autistic Disorder, Asperger Syndrome. Also girls with Rett Syndrome, and Dual Sensory Impairment or Sensory Impairment with another disabling condition.
What exactly do you offer?
We provide direct assistance to people with autism and similar disabilities and their families, but we are not a treatment provider. We meet with families and help them plan for intervention, [deal with] common autism problems, identify resources and assist with school issues such as an Individualized Educational Plan.
Do people come to you for a diagnosis?
They do not come to us for a diagnosis, but we help identify resources, where to go and we do a screening that helps provide an estimate for the risk for autism. We use a number of instruments depending on the age. It's a combination of parent questionnaires and direct interaction with the child.
Read more here:
FAU center helps parents of autistic children