Brain Power with Dr. Eko

Ep. 10 | Why is an Early Autism Diagnosis Critical?: Early Indicators and How to Act on Them

• Dr. Hokehe Eko • Season 1 • Episode 10

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Unlock the transformative power of early childhood evaluations with our heartfelt exploration into pediatric care. As we unveil the significance of the first five years, you'll grasp the profound impact that early recognition and intervention can have on children with developmental concerns. From identifying signs of autism to addressing ADHD nuances, our enlightening discussion delves into the necessity of an integrative approach to your child's health. Discover the subtle cues, such as minimal eye contact or a preference for solitary play, and why a comprehensive look at diet, sleep, and family history is crucial in nurturing your little one's well-being.

Join us for an intimate conversation that offers solace and strategies for parents navigating the complexities of ADHD and autism. Immerse yourself in the wisdom and personal stories highlighted in my book, "Children's Love Letters: A Pediatrician’s Guide to How Your Child Spells Love," a beacon for understanding your child's unique expressions of affection. We also extend a warm invitation to become part of our community, where families are empowered to flourish in health and happiness. Let this episode be your guide and companion on the journey towards a more connected and thriving family life.

Find the full episode on your favorite podcast platform and check out the video version on our YouTube channel!

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If you want to schedule an ADHD/Autism appointment for your child, you may contact Glow Pediatrics:

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Dr. Hokehe Eko:

Hello everyone. It's Dr Eko, your Happy Brain Pediatrician. So today we're gonna talk about why is it so critical to have your child get an evaluation early, and when I say early, I mean in the first five years of life. So, moms and dads, I know it's the hardest thing in the world to have to go to see a doctor and or, even before you go see a doctor, to suspect that there might be something going on with your child that you didn't anticipate, you didn't imagine. You may see behaviors that are concerning. For example, you talk to your child, they may not respond like they should, like a child of that typical age. Should you find that they don't really make eye contact with you when you're talking to them, they may be delayed in their speech, and when I say delayed in speech, I mean if your child by the age of two isn't putting like one or two words together. That's something that you should bring up to your pediatrician when you go for a well visit. Things like they may not want to play with other kids and they often like to play by themselves. As parents, we know, we know innately, we know our children better than anybody else, and so it's so important not to deny that inner voice, the inner knowing that we have, that there might be something we know with your child. And why do I say it's so important for you to get a diagnosis or at least to discuss your concerns with your child's pediatrician or your child's healthcare giver is because, while we are thankful that the brain is able to heal itself and you're not stuck with the brain you have the very first five years of life is critical that if this change is going to be made in terms of if your child has a speech delay, like starting to work on their speech, if they have difficulty with motor skills, opening cans or tiny shoelaces, things like that that the work is started at an early age, before the age of five. Now, that's not to say, if your child hasn't gotten evaluated after the age of five, then all hope is lost. Not at all. But for those parents who have any suspicion of anything being wrong is always best to ask. I always tell my parents that I care for there is no such thing as a stupid question. It's always better to ask and bring up your concerns that you may have than to squish them and to hope that it's not because, in terms of autism, specifically right now that we are discussing, if you do get your child evaluated children can be evaluated from the age of 18 months, all the way and on and so if, by 18 months, you have concerns and you bring it up to your pediatrician and you're able to get an evaluation done, then support services can be put in place for you and your child can thrive so that things can get better. So if we start working on your child's speech, for example, at 18 months, at two years of age, then they're more likely to make more progress than if we start working on their speech at age 6, 7, 8, you understand. So that's why it's important to ask the questions early.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

And the other thing I like to talk about is ADHD. Right, in the United States, we often do the evaluation for ADHD at the age of 6. So if your child is 4 years old and you're concerned about their behavior, about their hyperactivity, about running up and down and they can't seem to settle or focus on one thing at a time and we know that you have to wait till age 6 to get an actual diagnosis then in that case it would be important for you to seek out a pediatrician who is an integrative doctor, which means they're going to look at your child from the inside out, right? They're going to look at all of the things that are affecting your child's behavior, not just the behavior. So, for example, what do I mean? So I had a 4-year-old little one come to see me a few weeks ago and mom was concerned about ADHD. However, I told mom she's only 4, so we're not going to do an formal ADHD evaluation, right? But because I'm an integrative pediatrician and with every child I'm evaluated for autism, for ADHD, I do a full evaluation. And what do I mean by full evaluation? I'm asking questions about pregnancy when mom was pregnant with the child and when, and birth process and what happened when the baby was first born and was there any trauma that happened to mom when she was pregnant, all the way up to what's the child eating? What are the child's eating habits? How does the child sleep? Talking about if the child is constipated or not. Talking about the child's bowel, how the atomy functions, questions about family history of any illnesses. And so it's not.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

I don't focus just on the behaviors to make a diagnosis for autism. I'm looking at the entire child, because it's so critical to do that and not just focus on okay, these are the behaviors I'm looking at. That should give me this diagnosis, because there's sleep will affect the way your child behaves right, if your child is not getting enough sleep, if your child has difficulty falling asleep or staying awake all night, they will not behave well, I mean without even any other issues going on. Think about yourself as an adult when you don't sleep well, you don't function well. And it's the same thing with children when they don't sleep well, they don't act well. And I'm not saying that sleep causes autism, but I'm saying that it definitely plays a part in the way your child behaves. So it's so critical to address all these other underlying concerns, which is the way I practice as an integrated pediatrician and that's what I do in an evaluation. So that way I'm done with the evaluation.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

I may have a diagnosis of autism, but then I've also uncovered critical areas that we can address. So while we may have a diagnosis of autism, we also have things that we can work on, like improving sleep, improving nutrition, improving if there's anemia going on. Whatever we find that we can improve those things and for sure it does help your child live and be the best version of themselves. So we are addressing that overall health. So that's what Go Pediatrics does. We address the overall health, and so that's the story about the four year old, right? So mom comes in, I see the child, I ask all my questions I'm observing the child as well and I make recommendations to mom and we start working on her sleep.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

It turns out the child doesn't sleep well at all, like it's hard for her to go to sleep. So of course, if she doesn't sleep well and goes to sleep at five AM in the morning and wakes up at eight AM and then goes to school, she's not gonna be the best behaving child in the class, that's for sure. So we worked on that. We also worked on what she was eating. She was chronically constipated as well, and all of those things research and show and all those things, all of those areas all impact the way the brain functions. And that's my angle. And that's why that's the angle Because if we don't care for the physical health of the organ, the brain, nothing really else works well, because all of these things lack of sleep, not eating the right food all of them impact the way the physical brain works. So if we address all of those things, then our brain will function better. And so that's the way I approach evaluations for children. That's the way I approach care for children is let's look out the factors we can to help this child's brain work better. And so I'm happy to say that, after we decided to tackle sleep first because it's a process, right, we don't want to overwhelm parents, and so we tackled sleep and made some changes in what goes on in her sleep routine at night. We also added in some things like magnesium to help her with her sleep, and a few weeks later she's sleeping better, her activity is contained or it's improved, rather, she's doing much better, and so now we can continue that and then address the next thing that she has on the list, which in her case is constipation.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

And so I just wanted to just come on here. I really encourage parents. There is hope. The diagnosis of autism doesn't mean that's the end for your child. It doesn't at all mean that your child will never improve or your child will never be the best version of ourselves. Our job as parents is and my job as a pediatrician is to walk beside you In this journey, partner with you so that you and your child, your entire family can do well, can thrive, and if the earlier we start, the better the outcomes.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

I have seen this over and over and over, and so I often talk to parents who say I just didn't want to face that there was an issue. And I'm here to tell you I hear you. It's hard to hear that about your child, who you had different thoughts about them, I mean before they were born. And just to encourage you, my job is to help, is to partner with you to find your child's strengths and so we can boost those strengths and so your child can be the best version of yourself. I don't dwell on the diagnosis. I dwell on how can we help this child live to be the best version of themselves, and so I want that for your children, and I'm here.

Dr. Hokehe Eko:

If you have any further questions I can answer. I hope this was helpful. Please let me know if you're watching the replay hashtag replay and if questions I'll come back and respond to. Then please, if you're watching this on YouTube, please subscribe to our channel and like it and share it with families. More importantly, please share with families who need to hear this and know that there is hope. And again, as I always say, remember you're the best parent for your child and it's Valentine's month, right? So again, here's my book Children's Love Letters A Pediatrician's Guide to how your Child Spells Love written for Parents. I'm a Mommy Myself, and you can find this on Amazon, so I hope you have an amazing day. I look forward to serving you. I have a good program for parents of children with ADHD and autism and we are accepting new parents in there and look forward to serving you and helping you and your family thrive and glow with health from the inside out. Have an amazing day.