Autism Vox at Grand Rounds

Grand Rounds, Volume 3, No. 33 is a weekly blog carnival showcasing the best of the medical blogosphere. This week’s edition was hosted by The Blog That Ate Manhattan and includes mention of Autism Vox via the essay on “Where Are All the Adults With Autism?.”

Many of us who are parents of autistic children have had too many less-than-affirmative meetings with doctors and other members of the medical profession, who can seem (and I underscore the word “seems”—I am referring to parents’ perceptions here, not to the reality of doctors’ and others’ intentions) insufficiently informed and unsympathetic. Charlie and I have spent more than our share of time in completely crowded waiting rooms in clinics and in exam rooms while waiting to see a doctor for, it seems, a few minutes. As Charlie has gotten older and Jim and I have learned better how to advocate for him and how best to present our concerns about Charlie’s latest health issue, meetings with doctors have become much more efficient, effective and enjoyable. In regard to figuring out what medications to give Charlie, I think we have been able to forge a relationship of trust and mutuality with Charlie’s pediatric neurologist.

It is also the case that Charlie’s neurologist shares some of his own experiences as a parent, and as a parent of children with learning difficulties. My reading of more than a few medical blogs has provided more such personalized perspectives from those in the medical world. I’ll highlight a few from Grand Rounds:

• Universal Health on searching for a lost and elderly patient with dementia (this post brought back memories of how we felt when we did not know where Charlie was in some public place, even only for 5 seconds)
• Eye on DNA fills us in on personalized medicine and genomic healthcare
• Hospital Impact looks at the racial and economic disparities in health care

And, apropos of what I mentioned concerning the experiences that parents of autistic children have with doctors, is a post by Parallel Universes on trusting your doctor.