M-CHAT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ASD Essays - Psychology, Psychiatry

M-CHAT IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ASD Author's Name Institutional Affiliation Autism Spe ctrum Disorder (ASD) is a conditio n that is identified by anti-socialism or just abnormal socialisation, display of behaviours that are stereotypical, repetition in words and actions and general lagging behind of the brain among the children (Mayes, Black Tierney, 2013) . One cannot easily identify this defect in young infants for it can be easily mistaken for a mental delay in growth. However, in the later stages of development, if the mind tends to lag as previously noted and repetition of behaviours and even words spoken, there is the need for screening for identification for ASD in order for early treatment (Matson, Kozlowski, Fitzgerald Sipes, 2013) . It is among the neurodevelopmental disorders better termed as Persuasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). These diseases do not interfere with the physical state but rather the mental; examples of similar diseases are childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger's disorders among muc h more that affect the child like the ASD. Its most definite signs begin to be noticed when a child clocks the age of about 2-3 years but in rare cases, it is possibly identified by 18 months. Parents who identify children with this disorder are strongly advised to report the matter to a medical practitioner as early as possible for early treatment can make it go away as soon as the treatment commences. Possible symptoms include pretending play (though this should be reinforced with other characteristics because not all children who pretend play suffer from autism, others undergo anxiety or loneliness.), proto-declarative pointing and monitoring of gaze for abnormally long periods. Pretend play begins to be noticed at the age of 12-15 months where the child is observed doing strange things like it is not alone. Protodeclarative pointing, however, is noticed at about 9-14 months of age and is one of the most crucial pointers towards autism taking form; this is why the most suitable age for autism screening is 18 months because all the symptoms can be evident for easy identification. The most recent creation of CHAT has greatly aided in the identification of this disease. This " Checklist for Autism in Toddlers " (CHAT) was created to be able to diagnose ASD based on the reports that parents would bring forward with the help of CHAT (Mayes, Calhoun et al., 2009) . It comprises of 14 questions involving the child that the parent should answer, these questions are divided into section A and B. Section A basically asks about the normal behaviours the children with autism display and it comprises of nine questions. The parents are asked how the child conducts itself in matters concerning tumble play, its functional play, if the child displays proto-declarative pointing and if signs of roughness have been noted. This first section will try to determine whether the boy is compliant with it or not (Ravi, Chandrasekaran, Ka ttimani Subramanian, 2016) . Section B with the remaining five questions is for the medical practitioner to answer basing the answers on his personal observation of the child. Autism can be identified by the way the child gazes at objects, how the child keeps itself busy (pretend play), how it socializes with those around or those who come to interact with it and eventually the practitioner will gauge his answers with that of the parent thereby coming to a conclusion based on the questionnaire. These questions take roughly 15 minutes and by the end, the diagnosis is arrived at, this makes it convenient for use even at schools and other places children come to interact. Some children may pass some questions but fail in others, this is normally carefully looked at and if the child has failed in some important areas like proto-declarative pointing or developmental delays noted, the screening is done once again to minimise chances of error (Mayeset al., 2013) . With the assistance of CHAT, a sample of about 16,000 children was compiled and scrutinised and from that 10 children were found to have autism that were slightly above 3 years but not more than 4 years of age. There are two levels of autism screening that aid in the diagnosis. Level