Autism: Signs, Symptoms, & Intervention
Episode Description
In this episode of Mind Your Mind, host Tim Unsinn and psychiatrist Dr. Wayne Martinson discuss autism and signs of it in children, touching on the different levels of the autism spectrum and where people fall. Learn about how autism often affects children's social skills, communication, and behavior, as well as its connections to other disorders and how to handle it.What to Expect
- How autism affects children
- Levels of the autism spectrum
Resources: Learn More
- “Uniquely Human,” by Barry M. Prizant
- “The Aspie Teen’s Survival Guide,” by J. D. Kraus
Things to Think About
- Autism is often connected with other disorders such as ADHD and OCD.
- With support, some people can manage or overcome their struggles with autism.
- An engaged parent is the most important part of an autistic child’s support system.
About the Guest
Dr. Martinsen enjoys working with a wide range of ages and diagnoses. His practice is largely focused on complex clients with multiple health challenges. He diagnoses psychiatric and behavioral health conditions, makes recommendations for treatment, and prescribes/manages medications for clients of all ages. Much of his work focuses on maximizing health, treating illness, and promoting healthy longevity through lifestyle medicine.
Transcript
Autism: Signs, Symptoms, & Intervention
Featuring Dr. Wayne Martinsen, Psychiatrist, Dakota Family Services
Host Tim Unsinn:
Welcome to Mind Your Mind, a podcast presented by Dakota Family Services, an outpatient behavioral health clinic, located in Minot, Bismarck, and Fargo, North Dakota. In this podcast, I will talk with our experts about understanding and nurturing our mental health and wellness. I'm your host, Tim Unsinn. Join me each episode as we explore the intricacies of our minds, decrease the stigma of mental illness, learn practical tips for managing our mental health and well-being, and recognize when it's time to ask for help. Join me now to Mind Your Mind.
Host Tim Unsinn:
Welcome to this episode of Mind Your Mind. I'll be talking with Dr. Wayne Martinsen. Dr. Martinsen is the medical director and psychiatrist in Fargo and Minot. Dr. Martinsen diagnoses psychiatric and behavioral health conditions, makes treatment recommendations, and provides medication management for clients of all ages. Our topic is autism: signs, symptoms, and early intervention. However, before we get to the topic, I ask all of our guests this question, and that is, why do you do what you do?
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
Absolutely, Tim. It's the fascination with people. Not only is it incredible to be able to help somebody make a difference in their life, but just the connection to people and how fascinatingly different everybody's life is.
Host Tim Unsinn:
Thank you. Our topic is autism: signs, symptoms, and early Intervention. And this seems like just a really big topic, really big topic to cover. So we'll just kind of cover some of the bases, if you will. So, what are the symptoms of autism for parents seeking treatment?
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
The first thing that is probably primary in autism is just that difficulty connecting to and relating to others. Now, we see that in people who might have social skills deficits, but for people with autism, it's oftentimes a discomfort in that connection, even with eye contact. It's also a failure to understand the perspectives of other people, to understand at even a rudimentary childlike level how somebody else might see the same situation. There's problems with hierarchy in relationships. So oftentimes children with autism don't understand the difference in the roles between parent and child, between teacher and child, between older child and younger child. And when you, when you boil it down, when you look beyond that, there's problems in social, what's called social reciprocity. That normal give and take of friendships, of connection, even from a very young age. There's deficits in communication.
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
For example, even speech tone, Tim, tends to be very stilted and atonal, and they have a hard time with the give and take of conversations. These are children from a very young age who have difficulty making and maintaining friendships. They struggle with sort of any rule that isn't written down. The sort of intuitive, understood rules that guide relationships, that guide relationships to be different in different places. For example, a child at age five typically knows, even if they're misbehaved at the moment, they know that their behavior in church is different than their behavior with grandpa, which is different than it is with their playmates, and they adjust their behavior automatically accordingly. Children with autism really struggle with that.
Host Tim Unsinn:
So you talked about a lot of stuff there. A lot of stuff to unpack. So I think about autism and always hearing the autism spectrum. So it seems like some kids are maybe low on the autism spectrum, don't need a lot of extra help. And then there are kids on the other end of the spectrum that need a lot of help. How do you diagnose that? Or what's the process for that?
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
And really, you'd want to engage a psychologist to do testing to identify specifically where they are. But roughly somebody with level one autism has observable differences. They have struggles in relationships. They have struggles connecting to other people, but with supports, they're gonna do okay. They're gonna finish high school, they're gonna find a life partner. They're going to be able to maintain employment. People with level two autism have a much bigger struggle. Oftentimes, they're going to need support through their life, and as adults, they may need supervised employment. They may need supported housing. People with level three autism tend to be non-verbal, where they don't learn to master language. And these are people that are probably going to be dependent on extensive services throughout their life.
Host Tim Unsinn:
As we talk about autism, what about medication? Are there some medications for autism?
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
No, there's nothing that treats the core struggle with autism. Now, autism tends to be paired with other problems. So a lot of children with autism are going to have a lot of anger and rage. There's medication that can dampen down that rage. Most, probably two-thirds, of children with autism are going to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and that can be treated and it makes their life easier. But there's nothing that treats that core ability to connect with others. And that's where you really need your therapist, your occupational therapist, your applied behavior analyst, your teacher who's aware, your parent, who has really worked to learn about autism.
Host Tim Unsinn:
Our guest on Mind Your Mind is Dr. Wayne Martinsen. And we're talking about autism: signs, symptoms, and early intervention. What mental health problems often co-occur with autism?
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
So, common ones, we talked about adhd. Anxiety is really high. Obsessive compulsive disorder is common. Episodes of rage are common. And depression, perhaps less so, but depression is also common because it's hard for them to meet their needs. It's hard for them to use relationships and words to calm themselves when they're worried like other children would be about a situation.
Host Tim Unsinn:
Well, thank you for all that great information. As I listened to all that you have said, it just comes to me that we've made great strides in helping those impacted by autism and also educating those that are maybe their support system. And in, I mean, every day you've gotta see something going forward as a positive.
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
Absolutely. And one of the, you know, we talk about all the mental health pieces, Tim, but the most important part of an autistic child's support system is an actively learning and engaged, supportive parent. That's far more important than what we do with medication, what we do with occupational therapy or psychotherapy.
Host Tim Unsinn:
Awesome. Thank you so much for your time and your talent. It's always great having you on Mind Your Mind. But before we let you go, the final, final question. What do you do personally to mind your mind?
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
Well, in the last few years, what I've really focused on is meditation. And so I have, over the last four years, meditated every day. It's a practice that really helps me stay focused, helps me stay calm, and helps me stay connected to people and not get lost in the struggles, the anger, the distress that I work with all day.
Host Tim Unsinn:
Thank you. Thank you again for being on Mind Your Mind. Appreciate you.
Dr. Wayne Martinsen:
Thank you.
Host Tim Unsinn:
Thank you for joining us for Mind Your Mind, a podcast presented by Dakota Family Services. For more information, links to additional resources, contact information, and much more, go to dakotafamilyservices.org.
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