Early Assessment of Mental Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders – Sharing of Clinical Experience

Authors

  • H. Manolova Child Psychiatric Clinic “St. Nicholas”, University Hospital “Alexandrovska”, Sofia; Sofia Medical University, Dpt. of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Bulgaria
  • S. Staykova Child Psychiatric Clinic “St. Nicholas”, University Hospital “Alexandrovska”, Sofia; Sofia Medical University, Dpt. of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Bulgaria
  • M. Hristova Child Psychiatric Clinic “St. Nicholas”, University Hospital “Alexandrovska”, Sofia; Sofia Medical University, Dpt. of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Bulgaria
  • D. Terziev Child Psychiatric Clinic “St. Nicholas”, University Hospital “Alexandrovska”, Sofia; Sofia Medical University, Dpt. of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Bulgaria
  • G. Markova New Bulgarian University, Know How Centre for Alternative Care for Children, 38 A Han Krum str., Sofia, Bulgaria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2017.05.04.1

Keywords:

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs), early assessment of child development, mental developmental profiles

Abstract

The authors present a synthesised review of the methods for assessing mental development and autism, with an emphasis on the general tendency to reduce the age of diagnosis. Based on clinical experience, a number of particularities are described in terms of: testing, working with parents, observing and reflecting on the nature and meaning of autistic behaviours. On focus is a toolkit for detailed assessment of mental development that was elaborated within the inter-university cooperation between Sofia Medical University and Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) - Belgium. Illustrated and discussed are typical profiles of cognitive and socio-communicative functioning of children with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders, which help a differential diagnosis to be made by the multidisciplinary clinical team. Further described are the advantages of early assessment of mental development as a basis for future educational and therapeutic programs.

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Published

2018-01-17

How to Cite

Manolova, H., Staykova, S., Hristova, M., Terziev, D., & Markova, G. (2018). Early Assessment of Mental Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders – Sharing of Clinical Experience. Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment, 5(4), 102–112. https://doi.org/10.6000/2292-2598.2017.05.04.1

Issue

Section

Special Issue -Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Importance of Early Assessment and Early Interventions