Running head: USING EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE IN TREATING AUTISTIC

PATIENTS

Using Evidence Based Practice in Treating Autistic Patients

Alyssa Blosser

Youngstown State University

November 10, 2016

USING EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE IN TREATING AUTISTIC PATIENTS 2

Abstract

The focus on this paper is on why evidence based practice is necessary when caring for patients,

focusing specifically on patients with autism. There is currently no cure for autism and it is

unknown what the exact cause of it is even though research is always being conducted. This is

why it’s important that nurses are up to date with the varying options of therapy and medicines to

alleviate the issues that stem from this disorder. Assessing patients with autism comes with

obstacles and nurses must know how to prevent these obstacles from getting in the way of the

care they are providing. When a child is diagnosed with autism, the nurse then becomes an

educator and a consoler so a nurse must be prepared on how to take on these roles if it were to

occur. Patients with autism are just one example of a group of people that need evidence based

practice and competence used for their individualized assessments.

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Using Evidence Based Practice in Treating Autistic Patients

Before understanding how to properly care for a patient with autism it is important to

know what autism actually is. Autism is a disorder that is on a spectrum meaning there are

variations in the degree of severity in factors such as intellectual disability, motor coordination

difficulties, attention, and physical health issues. This disorder can be referred to as two general

terms; autism or autism spectrum disorder. The most important part about caring for patients

with autism is understanding that every individual is unique so caring for each patient will be

different. Signs and symptoms of autism usually begin to make an appearance when children are

around 2 or 3 years old (What is Autism?, 2016.). More people are being diagnosed with autism

now than ever and about 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with it, but boys are 4.5 times more

likely to be diagnosed than girls are (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). There is

currently no cure for autism which is why educating families and treatment are important for the

nurses to be competent in to help families.

Using evidence based practice is a necessity when caring for patients with autism because

every day more research is being conducted to learn more about it but only some interventions

are actually effective according to the National Professional Developmental Center on Autism

Spectrum Disorder (2014). Communication with patients is a necessity in nursing because both

verbal and nonverbal communication is observed in order to provide care and impairments in

communication is considered a hallmark symptom of autism (Brown & Elder, 2014). The role of

the nurse in these cases is to perform individualized assessments for each patient and to be

involved in Behavioral Modification Programs which help to increase social awareness and

communication skills. There is also involvement of medicine with autism because there are so

many symptoms that need to be treated in order to ensure patient safety. These dangerous
USING EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE IN TREATING AUTISTIC PATIENTS 4

symptoms include but are not limited to depression, anger, and self injurious behavior (Sweeney,

n.d., p. 28). Keeping up with research on what programs and medications help is crucial to

provide the best care possible once a diagnosis is made by a doctor.

When assessing a patient with autism it is important that stimulation is decreased in order

to make the patient feel comfortable and to get an accurate assessment done with no distractions.

A room without distractions must be private and not have many things going on in the

examination room that can cause visual or auditory distractions. Both a family and personal

history are important to obtain because each child requires an individualized assessment to help

create an accurate plan of care since no child with autism is the same. The history should focus

on what symptoms are being experienced and when they began including their motor and

language skills, their personality, social skills, and behavior. Although eye contact and touching

of the child need to be reduced because these might make the patient feel uncomfortable or

distracted, comforting possessions such as toys and blankets should be used as necessary to

reduce patient anxiety during examination (Sweeney, n.d., p. 23).

There currently is not an actual medical test that can be used to diagnose autism and it is

rather diagnosed through autism-specific behavior evaluations. An example of one of these

evaluations is The Modified Checklist of Autism in Toddlers (also known as M-CHAT) which is

a questionnaire filled out by the parents about their child which can then be used to see if a child

needs evaluated further. During doctor visits from birth until 36 months of age, the development

of the child is tested or later in life they can be diagnosed based off of difficulties in learning,

social, or emotional aspects that seem to have no understand of why they experience these

difficulties (How is Autism Diagnosed?, 2016).

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When a child is diagnosed with autism, it is important that nurses are competent in this

area because they then become educators and comforters of worried parents on top of their role

as nurses. Parents will blame themselves but the nurse must help the parents to understand that

autism is not developed through bad parenting and is a result of numerous factors including

genes and other theories. Nurses must also let the parents know that there is no cure for autism

but there are multiple forms of treatment and medications that can be used to help reach the

child’s abilities to their fullest. As previously stated, Behavioral Modification Programs can be

used to increase social and communication skills through positive reinforcement. Physical and

occupational therapy can help people children with autism that have a lack of play and motor or

life skills. Another therapy that can be utilized is speech therapy as well because some people

with autism can be nonverbal or their verbal skills can be impaired (Sweeney, n.d., p. 18).

Understanding how to properly care for a child with autism is important because there are

certain obstacles that need to be avoided to ensure full patient comfort. Autism is a spectrum

disorder that has no cure so a nurse must be aware of the treatments that are available in order to

educate and console both the parents and the child. This is why using evidence based practice

and keeping up to date on research is important. Assessments are different for children with

autism because there is no real medical test used for diagnosis and the nurse has to take on many

different roles as well. Patients with autism are just one example of a group of people that need

evidence based practice and competence used for their individualized assessments.
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References

Brown, A. B., & Elder, J. H. (2014, September/October). Communication in Autism Spectrum

Disorder. Continuing Nursing Education, 40(5), 219-225. Retrieved November 05, 2016, from

https://www.pediatricnursing.net/ce/2016/article4005219225.pdf.

Evidence Based Practices. (2014). Retrieved November 05, 2016, from

http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/evidence-based-practices.

Facts About ASD. (2016). Retrieved November 5, 2016, from

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html.

How Is Autism Diagnosed? (2016). Retrieved November 5, 2016, from

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/diagnosis.

Sweeney, K. (n.d.). Nursing Management of Patients With Autism [Scholarly project]. Retrieved

November 5, 2016, from

http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/context/srhonorsprog/article/1226/type/native/viewcontent

What Is Autism? (2016. Retrieved November 05, 2016, from

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism.