Role Of Pediatricians in Identifying Autism!
Shruti Gupta
March 24, 2023 
Pediatricians have a pivotal role in the lives of special needs children as they are the primary and first and foremost point of contact for every parent.
Your clinic and friendly smile is the child’s first outlet into the medical world where his developmental milestones and social communication skills come into the spotlight.
Smart, unbiased, and well-informed parents can also fail to evaluate the real scale of any problem that is brewing up in their children’s lives!
Hence the responsibility of the pediatrician becomes more vital in keeping a keen eye on the Red alerts that can alter the course of the child’s life.
The pressures of infective illnesses are so high on Indian pediatricians that often amidst busy OPDs and schedules one may overlook those assessments that can put the child into the possibly “special” category.
Putting up posters and playing informative videos can definitely help in raising awareness as many parents are often in a state of denial despite noticing something off track repeatedly.
That big hello with your brilliant baby-friendly pediatrician’s smile looking for eye contact or asking him to point mumma or papa ….simply saying hello and bye-bye or looking for a name response can change perspectives!
One can make parents aware of the gravity of the situation and take up a Mchat score and redirect them to a developmental pediatrician or pediatric psychiatrist!
No one on their own ever goes to seek therapy or meet a psychiatrist for their children considering the taboos revolving around mental health in our society. Also – the mentality that dictates – “it can’t be me” – or “this doctor may be wrong” further delays and precipitates the dire need for early identification and early intervention!
The storm that ensues following your diagnosis is life-altering but also builds faithfulness and trust in you that lasts beyond a lifetime in the parents’ hearts.
Your 30 seconds of extra effort to redirect the parents to a burning issue is etched in their system for life as they recall you as the messiah who saved their lives by showing them the true picture of the situation.
A missed diagnosis is forgotten but never forgiven is a human tendency and mindset for anyone who has been at the receiving end.
Hence it becomes our paramount duty to pledge those extra 30 seconds for that extra hello, an extra eye contact, an extra attempt at noticing finger-pointing and asking basic age-appropriate questions to the parent.
Autism is not a “curable disease ” – it is neurodiversity that needs timely identification and intervention to make it minimally debilitating and maximally inclusive for the child as his whole life will depend on it.
Thereafter it is the parents’ duty to carry forward and march ahead with the baton that has been passed on to them wantingly or unwantingly. Offer them your solace for an extra 5 seconds and tell them that timely therapy will improve the situation as hope is the only and most powerful force that binds humankind.
About Author
Shruti Gupta
Dr Shruti Gupta is a Consultant Radiologist but has a keen interest in advocating the cause of Autism and all the multiple aspects of special needs parenting through the power of the pen. She is associated with Autism Parents Forum as an Activist.