Autism and Epilepsy: What is the Connection? - John Gaitanis, MD

Tags: Aggression, Autism, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Neurology, Pediatrics Dr. Gaitanis, a graduate of Brown Medical School, completed his neurology training at Children’s Hospital Boston. He went on to finish an epilepsy fellowship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center before returning to Children’s Hospital Boston to join their epilepsy staff. While there, he co-founded the Comprehensive Brain Malformation Program, helping bridge clinical and basic science knowledge of these conditions. In 2004, Dr. Gaitanis returned to Brown Medical School and Hasbro Children’s Hospital where he served as the director of pediatric epilepsy. He aided in the development of ketogenic diet and epilepsy surgery programs at Brown, providing comprehensive epilepsy care for children in Rhode Island. He now serves as the Director of Child Neurology at Tufts Medical Center/Floating Hospital for Children. Apart from his clinical duties, Dr. Gaitanis serves as the Chairperson of the Matthew Siravo Memorial Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving epilepsy advocacy and education. Dr. Gaitanis’ research is aimed at improving the sensitivity of EEG through digital signal processing. He has also published original articles and book chapters on status epilepticus, cortical malformations, and epilepsy in infancy and childhood.