![\"Gut-brain](\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/AdobeStock_154166314-700x441.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-03-10T17:36:23-05:00<\/span>2026 Research Updates: GI Symptoms & Behavior<\/a><\/h4>
Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-03-10T17:36:23-05:00<\/span>December 2nd, 2026<\/span>|<\/span>Anxiety<\/a>, Challenging Behaviors<\/a>, depression<\/a>, Gastrointestinal<\/a>, Health<\/a>, Immune Issues<\/a>, Medical Care<\/a>, Neurological<\/a>, Parenting<\/a>, Pregnancy<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Self Injury<\/a>, Self-Injury<\/a>, Webinar<\/a>|<\/span><\/p>
Free webinar at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time (US), December 2, 2026 Dr. Bradley Ferguson, PhD,\u00a0a\u00a02024 research grant recipient, will share emerging research on the interaction of GI symptoms and behavior in autism. <\/p><\/div><\/article>
![\"man](\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/gastro.jpg\")
<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-02-18T13:02:59-05:00<\/span>Research Updates: Gastrointestinal Issues and Autism<\/a><\/h4>
Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-02-18T13:02:59-05:00<\/span>July 29th, 2026<\/span>|<\/span>COVID-19<\/a>, Health<\/a>, Immune Issues<\/a>, Medical Care<\/a>, Neurological<\/a>, Parenting<\/a>, Pregnancy<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Webinar<\/a>|<\/span><\/p>
Free webinar at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time (US), July 29, 2026 Harland Winter, MD, will discuss his research on gastrointestinal conditions in individuals with autism. Dr. Winter is an active investigator and educator<\/p><\/div><\/article>
![\"Black](\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/gut-microbiome-again-700x441.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-02-09T15:13:30-05:00<\/span>Research Updates: Microbiome Research and Autism<\/a><\/h4>
Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-02-09T15:13:30-05:00<\/span>May 20th, 2026<\/span>|<\/span>COVID-19<\/a>, Health<\/a>, Immune Issues<\/a>, Medical Care<\/a>, Neurological<\/a>, Parenting<\/a>, Pregnancy<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Webinar<\/a>|<\/span><\/p>
Free webinar at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time (US), May 20, 2026 Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown, Ph.D., will discuss her research on gut microbiota in individuals with autism who have gastrointestinal (GI) problems. She will share<\/p><\/div><\/article>
![\"Doctor](\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/AdobeStock_416761381-700x441.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2025-11-25T15:01:19-05:00<\/span>Emerging Research on Autism Rates and Covid<\/a><\/h4>
Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2025-11-25T15:01:19-05:00<\/span>April 22nd, 2026<\/span>|<\/span>COVID-19<\/a>, Health<\/a>, Immune Issues<\/a>, Medical Care<\/a>, Neurological<\/a>, Parenting<\/a>, Pregnancy<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Webinar<\/a>|<\/span><\/p>
Free webinar at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time (US), April 22, 2026 Tune in to hear about the Columbia University COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes Initiative (COMBO), which resulted in the first report demonstrating that<\/p><\/div><\/article>
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/AdobeStock_845339561-700x441.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-03-18T18:21:41-05:00<\/span>Gene Therapy for Mutations in the IQSEC2 Gene<\/a><\/h4>
Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-03-18T18:21:41-05:00<\/span>March 17th, 2026<\/span>|<\/span>Health<\/a>, Immune Issues<\/a>, Medical Care<\/a>, Neurological<\/a>, Parenting<\/a>, Pregnancy<\/a>, Research<\/a>, Research<\/a>, WAO<\/a>, Webinar<\/a>|<\/span><\/p>
The IQSEC2 protein is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Arf6.\u00a0 Pathogenic variants in the X-linked IQSEC2 gene are associated with drug-resistant epilepsy, severe intellectual disability, and autism.\u00a0 The vast<\/p><\/div><\/article>
![\"Cars](\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/exhaust-700x441.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-03-09T15:09:40-05:00<\/span>Editorial: What we breathe matters – Rethinking air pollution and autism<\/a><\/h4>
Melanie Glock<\/a><\/span><\/span>2026-03-09T15:09:40-05:00<\/span>March 9th, 2026<\/span>|<\/span>News<\/a>, Research<\/a>|<\/span><\/p>
For nearly sixty years, the Autism Research Institute (ARI) has tried to understand autism by looking beyond surface behaviors and asking deeper biological questions. From the beginning, Bernard Rimland challenged the dominant<\/p><\/div><\/article><\/section><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":6385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,20,19],"tags":[58,5091,5092,3692,4553,4552,72,3467],"class_list":["post-4923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news","category-research","tag-autism","tag-autism-standard-of-care","tag-continuing-medical-education","tag-editorial","tag-medical-care","tag-medical-comorbidities","tag-research","tag-treatment"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStandaradizing Proper Medical Care for Individuals with Autism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Until a standard of medical care for individuals with ASD is established, many medical problems of people with ASD will go untreated.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Editorial - Standardizing Proper Medical Care for Individuals with Autism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Until a standard of medical care for individuals with ASD is established, many medical problems of people with ASD will go untreated.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Autism Research Institute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/autismresearchinstitute\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-06T18:30:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-11T15:43:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/AdobeStock_261939118.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"5616\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2995\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Melanie Glock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ariConference\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ariConference\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melanie Glock\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Melanie Glock\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ad26e988cbfed68201ec1c125f98d660\"},\"headline\":\"Editorial – Standardizing Proper Medical Care for Individuals with Autism\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-06T18:30:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-11T15:43:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/\"},\"wordCount\":1998,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/AdobeStock_261939118.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"autism\",\"autism standard of care\",\"continuing medical education\",\"editorial\",\"Medical Care\",\"Medical Comorbidities\",\"research\",\"treatment\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Health\",\"News\",\"Research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/\",\"name\":\"Standaradizing Proper Medical Care for Individuals with Autism\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/AdobeStock_261939118.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-06T18:30:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-11T15:43:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Until a standard of medical care for individuals with ASD is established, many medical problems of people with ASD will go untreated.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/standardizing-medical-care-for-individuals-with-autism\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/AdobeStock_261939118.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/AdobeStock_261939118.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1365,\"caption\":\"Hand of doctor reassuring her female patient. 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This editorial originally appeared in ARI\u2019s Autism Research Review International \u2013 <\/em>now available online. Visit the ARRI Online to continue reading this issue and more.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> Countless studies and scientific surveys have documented medical comorbidities in people with ASD. In addition, more than half of individuals diagnosed with autism suffer from one or more medical issues.<\/p>\n Given the high prevalence rate of autism, it might be assumed that health-related government agencies, professional medical organizations, and insurance companies closely monitor the progress of research in autism, and that physicians are continually updated on best practice for care. Yet a standard of medical care for individuals with ASD has not been established. As a result, many of the medical problems of people with ASD go unnoticed and thus untreated.<\/p>\n<\/div> What should medical care for individuals with autism look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n For patients with autism to receive proper care, doctors and their clinical staffs must possess four types of knowledge:<\/p>\n Awareness of common medical conditions<\/strong> Currently, physicians have opportunities to learn about medical problems associated with autism, but this is optional. Given the high rate of autism, knowledge about common comorbidities in ASD should be mandatory for physicians to be in good standing in professional organizations such as the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Neurology.<\/p>\n The information physicians need is readily available to them. Several organizations host webinars on medical issues associated with autism, and some of them offer continuing medical education (CME) credit. ARI offers, in joint providership with the Cleveland Clinic, complimentary AMA PRA Category 1 Credit\u2122<\/em><\/a> to physicians and the general public.<\/p>\n Parents can also play a role in educating physicians and medical staff by sharing links to informative, science-based websites as well as specific articles of interest.<\/p>\n Identification of medical problems<\/em> Experts in the field of autism should work together to develop a standardized intake form to help doctors screen for possible medical conditions. This form could be completed by a care provider or a patient with ASD prior to a visit (using an online form) or at the doctor\u2019s office. The intake form should include questions regarding allergies, anxiety, GI problems, possible signs of seizures, sensory sensitivities, and sleep problems. Work is already in progress on this front; for example, a checklist designed to identify GI disorders was recently published by Kara Gross Margolis and her colleagues.<\/p>\n After reviewing the intake form, medical professionals should ask additional questions in order to avoid any misinterpretation as well as to learn more specifics about possible medical problems.<\/p>\n Physicians should also be aware that patients with ASD may not express any signs of discomfort or pain, or may react by engaging in a challenging behavior. Regarding the former, we have heard reports of individuals with ruptured eardrums or appendixes who gave no indication of any distress prior to, during, or after the rupture. Regarding the latter, medical conditions associated with behavior problems may include ear infections and ear-hitting, headaches and head banging, sinus infections and face-slapping, excessive scratching and rash, and sleep problems and stomachaches.<\/p>\n Laboratory testing and referral<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n If a physician suspects an underlying medical condition, he or she should know which laboratory tests to order. If the patient is referred to a specialist, the referring physician should be able to describe, at least to some degree, the procedures likely to be involved in the specialist\u2019s evaluation.<\/p>\n Furthermore, it would be ideal for the referring physician or medical staff to provide information about specialists, including the types of health insurance they accept and the amount of experience they have in examining individuals with ASD. Specialists with little or no experience may need guidance from patients or care providers.<\/p>\n Care providers, for their part, should consider the use of social stories to reduce anxiety during medical tests and procedures.<\/p>\n Treatment<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The medical protocol for patients with ASD should include only evidence-based treatments. This will prevent patients and caregivers from wasting precious time and financial resources on interventions that may sound reasonable in theory, but have no effect or could possibly lead to adverse effects.<\/p>\n Some physicians hesitate to prescribe certain treatments for which there is little or no research involving individuals with ASD, even when these treatments have been shown to be effective in treating the neurotypical population. Examples include treatments for constipation, allergies, GERD, rashes, and infections. In such cases, physicians should carefully weigh the costs and benefits of treatment.<\/p>\n Physicians should be mindful when prescribing treatments that may impact multiple biological systems, either directly or indirectly. For example, many psychiatric medications, such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants, can slow stool motility, and this could worsen an already constipated bowel. In addition, laxatives can lead to dehydration, which is already a problem among many individuals with ASD.<\/p>\n Furthermore, physicians have a responsibility to provide unbiased and accurate information to care providers and individuals with ASD who inquire about treatments that may not be included in a standard medical protocol. It would be advantageous and could be part of the informed consent process, to make \u201cwhite papers\u201d available on all popular interventions, whether evidence-based or not.<\/p>\n Given what we already know, it is disconcerting that many autistic individuals do not receive treatment for mild, moderate, or even severe medical issues.<\/p>\n There is no reason for the medical community to wait any longer to develop a comprehensive standard of care for autism. We do not need to know all the answers before such a protocol is written. It is safe to state that all medical care progresses over time.<\/p>\n If a standard medical protocol is agreed upon, then an important but delicate question would be, \u201cWho will oversee the protocol?\u201d All stakeholders in the autism community should have a say in answering this question.<\/p>\n Where there is a will, there\u2019s a way!<\/p>\n By Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D.<\/strong> This editorial is available in PDF format – Download Here<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/sedelson3-1-150x150.jpg\")
For more than 50 years, doctors and researchers viewed autism solely as a neurodevelopmental disorder. In recent decades, however, we have begun to focus increasing attention on medical co-morbidities in autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including seizures, immune and metabolic dysfunction, gastrointestinal (GI) impairment, anxiety, and sleep disorders.<\/p>\n![\"autism](\"https:\/\/autism.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/AdobeStock_261939118.jpeg\" "\\"Hand")
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Here are steps we can take to foster each type of knowledge.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\n<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat can be done now?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nExecutive Director, Autism Research Institute<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nIt appeared in Vol. 33, No. 1, 2019, of Autism Research Review International<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>