Better Than a Diagnosis


Book Description

Better Than A Diagnosis: A Single Parent's Guide to Autism is a never before seen autobiographical novel meets well-researched roadmap in navigating the world of autism spectrum disorder. Most parents face barriers with getting support for their children on the spectrum and Antoinette's unique perspective as a single parent pulls the reader into a cocoon of relatable inspiration.The reader will learn about biological psychology, teaching techniques, and first-hand experience behind the choices and behaviors of a person on the spectrum.Antoinette says, "I know what it feels like to be told a thousand times 'no' when it came to the care of my child. I know how it feels to be abandoned by friends and family over the choice to stay committed to the roller coaster of autism. I wrote this book for every person who ever felt alone, challenged, and frustrated in combating autism. There is hope. And hope is Better Than a Diagnosis."







Overdiagnosed


Book Description

An exposé on Big Pharma and the American healthcare system’s zeal for excessive medical testing, from a nationally recognized expert More screening doesn’t lead to better health—but can turn healthy people into patients. Going against the conventional wisdom reinforced by the medical establishment and Big Pharma that more screening is the best preventative medicine, Dr. Gilbert Welch builds a compelling counterargument that what we need are fewer, not more, diagnoses. Documenting the excesses of American medical practice that labels far too many of us as sick, Welch examines the social, ethical, and economic ramifications of a health-care system that unnecessarily diagnoses and treats patients, most of whom will not benefit from treatment, might be harmed by it, and would arguably be better off without screening. Drawing on 25 years of medical practice and research on the effects of medical testing, Welch explains in a straightforward, jargon-free style how the cutoffs for treating a person with “abnormal” test results have been drastically lowered just when technological advances have allowed us to see more and more “abnormalities,” many of which will pose fewer health complications than the procedures that ostensibly cure them. Citing studies that show that 10% of 2,000 healthy people were found to have had silent strokes, and that well over half of men over age sixty have traces of prostate cancer but no impairment, Welch reveals overdiagnosis to be rampant for numerous conditions and diseases, including diabetes, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, gallstones, abdominal aortic aneuryisms, blood clots, as well as skin, prostate, breast, and lung cancers. With genetic and prenatal screening now common, patients are being diagnosed not with disease but with “pre-disease” or for being at “high risk” of developing disease. Revealing the economic and medical forces that contribute to overdiagnosis, Welch makes a reasoned call for change that would save us from countless unneeded surgeries, excessive worry, and exorbitant costs, all while maintaining a balanced view of both the potential benefits and harms of diagnosis. Drawing on data, clinical studies, and anecdotes from his own practice, Welch builds a solid, accessible case against the belief that more screening always improves health care.




What Autism Gave Me


Book Description

An Unexpected Story of Hope and Perseverance... As a young child, it was obvious something was wrong with Michael. He lacked basic motor skills and was unable to follow simple instructions or answer questions. Testing revealed a diagnosis of autism with a low IQ. Experts insisted that leading an independent life would be impossible for him...and school was not an option. Supported by documentation and interviews, Michael's heartfelt memoir traces the sustained challenges and turbulent journey he faced. His life was plagued by failures, negative results, rejections from schools, an inability to complete simple karate moves or participate in activities-all of which confirmed the hopeless situation. But Michael was surrounded by support, and he was encouraged to keep trying no matter how many times he failed. Developmental progress was not always obvious, but Michael was finding his own unique path. What Autism Gave Me is a powerful reminder that the human drive to succeed is stronger than any diagnosis.




My Autism Book


Book Description

My Autism Book is a beautifully illustrated picture book that helps parents to explain an autism diagnosis to their child in a sensitive, positive and accurate way. When a child is diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), parents often feel overwhelmed and uncertain about how to communicate the diagnosis to their child. This book is designed to be read with the child as a simple introduction to their diagnosis. Written by a doctor and a children's author, the book is tailored precisely to the needs and experiences of the child with ASD aged 5-9. It explains what an autism diagnosis means and encourages an exploration of the child's likely strengths and differences using clear language that speaks directly to the child. The colourful pictures throughout show how the world looks from the child's perspective and the book ends with a summary checklist to encourage the child to record and discuss how autism affects them.




Your Special Grandchild


Book Description

So your grandchild has Asperger Syndrome (AS)? You might have noticed that some of his behaviour is a bit different to most kids, that he becomes stressed when faced with change and he doesn't cope well with criticism or failure.' This book offers a fun and accessible introduction for the grandparent of a child diagnosed with AS. Intended as a support tool in the initial period after diagnosis, Your Special Grandchild is varied and engaging, and addresses questions or concerns that grandparents might have, such as 'What are the characteristics of AS?', 'How did my grandchild get AS?' and 'What happens now?'. Also included are poems, stories, illustrations and activities to help grandparents come to terms with and move forward from a diagnosis of AS, and work together with the family to support the child. Your Special Grandchild will be essential reading for grandparents of children in the initial period after a diagnosis of AS.




Every Patient Tells a Story


Book Description

A riveting exploration of the most difficult and important part of what doctors do, by Yale School of Medicine physician Dr. Lisa Sanders, author of the monthly New York Times Magazine column "Diagnosis," the inspiration for the hit Fox TV series House, M.D. "The experience of being ill can be like waking up in a foreign country. Life, as you formerly knew it, is on hold while you travel through this other world as unknown as it is unexpected. When I see patients in the hospital or in my office who are suddenly, surprisingly ill, what they really want to know is, ‘What is wrong with me?’ They want a road map that will help them manage their new surroundings. The ability to give this unnerving and unfamiliar place a name, to know it—on some level—restores a measure of control, independent of whether or not that diagnosis comes attached to a cure. Because, even today, a diagnosis is frequently all a good doctor has to offer." A healthy young man suddenly loses his memory—making him unable to remember the events of each passing hour. Two patients diagnosed with Lyme disease improve after antibiotic treatment—only to have their symptoms mysteriously return. A young woman lies dying in the ICU—bleeding, jaundiced, incoherent—and none of her doctors know what is killing her. In Every Patient Tells a Story, Dr. Lisa Sanders takes us bedside to witness the process of solving these and other diagnostic dilemmas, providing a firsthand account of the expertise and intuition that lead a doctor to make the right diagnosis. Never in human history have doctors had the knowledge, the tools, and the skills that they have today to diagnose illness and disease. And yet mistakes are made, diagnoses missed, symptoms or tests misunderstood. In this high-tech world of modern medicine, Sanders shows us that knowledge, while essential, is not sufficient to unravel the complexities of illness. She presents an unflinching look inside the detective story that marks nearly every illness—the diagnosis—revealing the combination of uncertainty and intrigue that doctors face when confronting patients who are sick or dying. Through dramatic stories of patients with baffling symptoms, Sanders portrays the absolute necessity and surprising difficulties of getting the patient’s story, the challenges of the physical exam, the pitfalls of doctor-to-doctor communication, the vagaries of tests, and the near calamity of diagnostic errors. In Every Patient Tells a Story, Dr. Sanders chronicles the real-life drama of doctors solving these difficult medical mysteries that not only illustrate the art and science of diagnosis, but often save the patients’ lives.




Improving Diagnosis in Health Care


Book Description

Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.




Better Late Than Never


Book Description

Emma Mahony explores ADHD as a mental health issue, revealing her own journey with late diagnosis whilst offering readers advice on how to understand and cope with this complex disorder.




Demystifying Autism Spectrum Disorders


Book Description

A guide for parents, educators and caregivers describing the five developmental disorders that fall under the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) umbrella - Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), Rett's Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).




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