Mental Health Crises in Autistic Children: A Framework for Prevention and Intervention in Primary Care.

Children with autism are at high risk for experiencing a mental health crisis, which occurs when psychiatric and behavioral symptoms become a danger and caregivers do not have the resources to safely manage the event. Our current mental health systems of care are not fully prepared to manage crisis in autistic individuals, due to the shortage of available mental health providers and programs that are tailored for autistic children. However, new strategies to address crisis are gradually emerging. This article provides a framework to define crisis and implement prevention and intervention approaches that could potentially mitigate risk for crisis.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Autism Spectrum Rating Scales (6-18 Years Parent Report) in a Clinical Sample.

ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder impacting 1 in 44 children and early identification of children with ASD is critical for the intervention. Several screening measures have been developed for early identification, including the Autism Spectrum Rating Scales, 6-18 years Parent Report (ASRS). The ASRS has been understudied, and the current study assessed the validity of the ASRS in a clinical sample of 490 children at a tertiary ASD-specialty clinic. Results indicated that the ASRS demonstrated favorable sensitivity, but poor specificity. True positive screening results were more likely to occur for children with a multiracial background, while they were less likely to occur for children with a high social capital. Overall, though the ASRS has clinical utility as a screening measure, it did not perform effectively to differentiate ASD from Non-ASD clinical disorders.

Misdiagnosis of capillary malformations in darker skin phototypes.

In the dermatologic medical literature, there is an underrepresentation of conditions in individuals of color. Due to the lack of representation, it may be harder for clinicians to recognize certain diagnoses in patients with darker skin phototypes leading to misdiagnosis and affecting overall patient management, outcomes, and satisfaction. Here, we present four Black or Indigenous People of Color who were initially referred for hyperpigmentation, hemihyperplasia, or café au lait spots and found to have syndromic capillary malformations.