Parental concerns about caring for children with special needs – Episode 2

Parental concerns about caring for children with special needs-Episode 2

Caring for children with special needs is now made easy. Nayi Disha has launched the “Ask Me Anything” series with Neuro-Developmental Pediatrician Dr. Ajay Sharma, where he addresses general parental concerns about care of children with special needs.

Questions being addressed in episode 2 of audio series :

Q1: My child has been diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome and has epilepsy. Is it safe to get vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine?

In people with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, Fragile X syndrome or epilepsy, Down Syndrome, there is no contraindications with COVID vaccine. 

Only in situations, where the individual has fever or COVID, should the vaccine be deferred.

Q2: The child speaks only a few words and does not respond to being called by name. What should I do?

The first step towards assessing if there is an underlying cause, by:

1.  Checking for hearing deficits. A hearing impairment may be a reason for the child not responding or a language delay. A complete evaluation to identify any such concerns is therefore quite important, so that it can effectively be addressed.
2. Language delay: some children may have a delay in the development of language and development. This concern can be addressed by working with the child’s language and communication through play and providing the right kind of stimulus.(tag: IRs) let us play/let us talk
3. A concerning part of the question here, according to Dr. Ajay is the child not responding to his name. This is one of the signs of autism, though it does not necessarily mean that the child has autism, it is however important to seek help from a developmental paediatrician for further assessment.

Q3: My child is non-verbal and needs help with communication. What can I do if speech is of concern?

A diagnosis of ADHD and the child being non-speaking may mean that there are other concerns which may be affecting his speech and language. It is therefore important to consult a developmental paediatrician for further diagnosis of any other conditions that might be affecting the child’s speech.

Q4: Can Autism be cured with medication?

Please remember, autism is not a disease and therefore no cure and children can show improvement in cognition, speech and communication with scientific evidence  based conventional therapies including speech, behaviour and occupational therapy.

However, there are certain associated conditions and symptoms of autism like ADHD, aggression or anxiety that may benefit from carefully prescribed medications after a thorough evaluation of the child, by a physician.

Q5: Is stem cell therapy safe for the health management of a child with Autism? Is there any evidence for efficacy

There is no study that shows that stem cell therapy benefits the symptoms of autism. There is virtually no evidence to support its efficacy in autism and Dr. Ajay opposes its use in autism.

Autism is a broad condition and none of the studies shown have proven benefits for children with autism to improve any associated symptoms. On the other hand, there have been undesired side effects such as chronic headaches or seizures, further worsening the child’s conditions.

Once again, it is important for parents to remember that their focus should be on providing the appropriate therapies to help develop independent day to day skills, cognitive and speech and language skills. There is no cure or treatment of the neurodevelopmental condition called autism and stem cell therapy is not evidence based therapy for autism.

Watch Episode 1 of parental concerns about caring for children with special needs.

For more information, you can also check Health and co-morbidities from Nayi Disha’s website.

If you have questions about Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, or other intellectual disabilities, or have concerns about developmental delays in a child, the Nayi Disha team is here to help. For any questions or queries, please contact our FREE Helpline at 844-844-8996. You can call or what’s app us. Our counselors speak different languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali.

Disclaimer : Please do not consider this audio clip as medical advice. This guide is for your information purposes only.