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Missing Components in Current Management of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Nutrition, Dental Care, and House-Call Programs

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Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder and systemic disease with multiple comorbidities and largely fragmented clinical care. In this article, we discuss three important components frequently missing from the current ASD standard care routine: oral health, nutrition, and house-call programs. Both ASD centers associated with tertiary-care hospitals and community ASD providers do not regularly offer these services. In this review, we address the benefits of and rationale behind incorporating dental care, nutrition, and house-call programs into ASD management. We also explain why these three services are closely intertwined, with potentially synergistic effects to improve health care outcomes for patients with ASD. Finally, we discuss strategies for service implementation and envision ways in which these three branches of ASD care can be best integrated into a primary care routine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Synapse Program, Athinoula A. Martinos Center, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA

    Jun Liu & Xuejun Kong

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jun Liu & Xuejun Kong

  3. Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Morgane Amat

  4. To Cure Autism Institute, Burlington, MA, USA

    Rui Song

  5. Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Xuejun Kong

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  1. Jun Liu
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Correspondence to Xuejun Kong.

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Liu, J., Amat, M., Song, R. et al. Missing Components in Current Management of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Nutrition, Dental Care, and House-Call Programs. Rev J Autism Dev Disord 7, 219–225 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-019-00182-x

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