Do You Have Questions About Autism?
If so, you're not alone. In my home state of Pennsylvania, there are a grand total of 13 developmental pediatricians with an expertise in autism. There are only a bare handful of psychologists who specialize in families with special needs. And it's nearly impossible to find an adult on the spectrum who can help parents to better understand their children's needs.
Ask the Experts!
Three experts, introduced below, have graciously agreed to lend their time and knowledge to the About.com Autism Spectrum Disorders site. Please send your questions to me at autism.guide@about.com and I will forward them along to the appropriate expert. Please be aware that your question and the answer provided may be posted (with your name removed) on this site, so that others with similar concerns can get the answers they need. And do note that it may take a while to see your answer posted, since all of these experts are busy in their own practices and lives!
- Important Disclaimer: About.com guest experts cannot, and are not diagnosing via the internet. Readers should always contact their doctors before taking any action.
Family Psychologists Dr. Robert Naseef and Dr. Cindy Ariel
Robert Naseef and Cindy Ariel are psychologists in independent practice. They are the co-founders of Alternative Choices, a group psychotherapy practice in the Philadephia area which includes a Special Families Resource Center. They are also co-editors of Voices from the Spectrum: Parents, Grandparents, Siblings, People with Autism, and Professionals Share Their Wisdom.What are your questions about coping, handling stress, strengthening your marriage, supporting siblings, and communicating with extended family, handling day to day challenges?
Developmental Pediatrician Dr. James Coplan
Dr. Coplan completed his undergraduate training at Dartmouth College, and his medical education at New York Medical College. He completed pediatric internship and residency at Hartford Hospital, and his fellowship in Child Development at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.From 1997 to 2004, Dr. Coplan served as Director of Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Coplan left Children's Hospital in June of 2004 to form his own practice, Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics of the Main Line, located in Rosemont, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Coplan will address questions regarding the medical aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorders including causation, medication, co-existing disorders (ADHD, MR, anxiety, tics, etc), and long-term prognosis.
Kate Goldfield, Self-Advocate and Young Adult with Asperger Syndrome
Kate Goldfield is a 22 year old psychology major who recently discovered her own Asperger's Syndrome last August. Since then, she made it a point to read everything she could get her hands on regarding autism or Asperger's Syndrome, which to date numbers more than two dozen books. Last October, she wrote an opinion piece about what it felt like to be on the autistic spectrum that was published in the Baltimore Sun and Hartford Courant. She has spoken about her life at the Penn Autism Network Annual Conference and at the last ASPEN conference in New Jersey. Kate co-founded a support group for college students with autism spectrum disorders in Baltimore, where she attended college, and whenever she travels, she makes it a point to try to meet it up with other people on the spectrum that she knows from Internet autism spectrum websites.Kate welcomes any and all questions about life on the autism spectrum for teens and adults; whether you want to figure out why your loved one acts a certain way and how to best help them with their challenges, or understand why you do something yourself, she is here to help.
