This book examines the diagnostic overlap and frequent confusion between the newly named DSM-5 diagnostic categories of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), which include autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and trauma and stressor related disorders (TSRDs). These conditions are similar in that a) children with developmental disorders are particularly vulnerable to traumatic events and b) all have pervasive effects on the brain and development. Chapters provide a wealth of effective clinical, family, and school-based interventions, developed from established studies and important new findings. In addition, chapters use illustrative case studies to survey assessment challenges in today’s healthcare climate and consider alternative routes for improving correct diagnoses, identifying appropriate interventions, and referring proper targeted, evidence-based treatment and services. The book concludes with the editors’ recommendations for needs-based service access, including a more widespread use and acceptance of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework. Topics featured in this book include: The neurobiological contributors to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) and its diagnosis in children with a history of trauma. Interventions for trauma and stressor-related disorders in preschool-aged children. Reactive attachment disorder (RAD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and care in a cultural context. Special population consideration in ASD identification and treatment. Challenges associated with the transition to adulthood. Trauma and neurodevelopmental disorders from a public health perspective. Trauma, Autism, and Neurodevelopmental Disorders is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians and related professionals, and graduate students in developmental psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, public health, social work, pediatrics, and special education.

Trauma, stress, and disasters are impacting our world. The scientific advances presented address the burden of disease of trauma- and stressor-related disorders. This book is about their genetic, neurochemical, developmental, and psychological foundations, epidemiology, and prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment. It presents evidence-based psychotherapeutic, psychopharmacological, public health, and policy interventions.

Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders gathers and organizes the most recent information in this important and rapidly expanding field into a clinically useful volume that will enable clinicians, patients, and families to understand these disorders and make sound treatment decisions in light of recent research. The editors, as well as most of the chapter authors, are faculty or former trainees at the prestigious Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (MIND) Institute at UC-Davis, a collaborative international research center committed to the awareness, understanding, prevention, care, and cure of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, ADHD, learning disorders, and more. Each chapter presents signs and symptoms; epidemiology and etiology; diagnostic approaches; evidence based interventions; and reviews of promising research. By focusing on the range of neurodevelopmental disorders commonly seen and managed by both primary and subspecialist health care professionals. Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders explains cutting-edge research and advances in clinical care, and assembles them into a single, indispensable volume.

ESSENCE (Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations) refers to the group of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism, ADHD and tic disorders as well as conditions gaining increasing awareness such as ARFID, PANS and PANDAS. Professor of child psychiatry Christopher Gillberg describes the lifetime prognosis of ESSENCE, examining the common co-occurrence between these conditions and the symptoms they present. Whilst diagnoses are often treated in isolation, Gillberg presents these issues as an overall condition, and advises treatment and support based on a holistic approach. This book also demonstrates the need for holistic whole-person interventions and assessments to improve outcomes for people within this group.

Autism is an emerging area of basic and clinical research, and has only recently been recognized as a major topic in biomedical research. Approximately 1 in 150 children are diagnosed as autistic, so it is also an intense growth area in behavioral and educational treatments. Financial resources have begun to be raised for more comprehensive research and an increasing number of scientists are becoming involved in autism research. In many respects, autism has become a model for conducting translational research on a psychiatric disorder. This text provides a comprehensive summary of all current knowledge related to the behavioral, experiential, and biomedical features of the autism spectrum disorders including major behavioral and cognitive syndromology, common co-morbid conditions, neuropathology, neuroimmunology, and other neurological correlates such as seizures, allergy and immunology, gastroenterology, infectious disease, and epidemiology. Edited by three leading researchers, this volume contains over 80 chapters and nine shorter commentaries by thought leaders in the field, making the book a virtual "who's who" of autism research. This carefully developed book is a comprehensive and authoritative reference for what we know in this area as well as a guidepost for the next several years in all areas of autism research.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are common psychiatric disorders seen in adults and children. Both disorders can have a major impact on a child's life, as they can cause functional impairment. PTSD is a disorder that occurs after an individual experiences a traumatic event(s), whereas ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that develops in early childhood. Although these disorders are quite different, the symptomology can often look similar. The similarity of symptoms in ASD and PTSD contributes to the disorders often being misdiagnosed, especially for individuals who have a co-morbid diagnosis of ASD and PTSD. This study focuses on children since ASD is most commonly diagnosed in childhood and PTSD often occurs in childhood. An early diagnosis is important for early treatment. This review will discuss the complex diagnostic features of PTSD and ASD, the symptom similarity and comorbidity of these disorders, the barriers and importance of accurately diagnosing the disorders, and the need for clinical guidance when assessing for these disorders for children.