A new study has found that children who routinely miss well visits with their doctor are at risk of being delayed in being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For a growing and developing infant and toddler, well visits with their medical professional are important. It is not only to make sure they are growing and healthy, it is also part of preventative. Well-visits are not just about treating illnesses once they start, it is also about watching for high risk and signs of illness. Children who are diagnosed as neurodivergent earlier can sometimes have easier access to treatment and it can impact the quality of life they lead.
According to Medical Xpress, a study was done that showed that missing these important well visits can lead to a delayed ASD diagnosis. This study was done by the University of Virginia and it can be read in full here.
Well-visits in the first year of life are often and numerous, with babies being seen regularly by their doctor to check their growth and to receive their vaccinations. However, after the child is a year old, these visits typically drop lower and this study may call for them to be more routine.
Not having routine well-visits after 1-year-old can have a large impact on children who have ASD, because their delayed diagnosis can lead to cognitive, educational, and social disadvantages. Pam DeGuzman is one of the researchers and she stated that parents often don’t realize how important these visits are after all of the routine immunizations are done, and this study could inform parents that it is important to regularly take their child to the doctor. To complete this study, Pam and colleagues looked at 253 children with ASD who all were born in 2011. They looked at their well-visits, the age they were diagnosed, and their behavioral interventions.
They found that children who missed a well-visit at 24 months, 30 months, and three years old, were diagnosed 9 months later than children who had attended those visits. They also found that parents who had Medicaid insurance were more likely to miss appointments than those who had private insurance, which shows a gap in the healthcare system and how these visits are not accessible for some individuals. Early interventions with ASD can make a big difference, and these are being missed because doctors are not seeing these children in time.
Sources: Medical Xpress, The Journal of Pediatrics