Prematurity and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Dr. May Khairy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McGill University, a staff pediatrician in the Neonatal Follow-Up Program, and a clinical assistant in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Montreal Children’s Hospital - McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).  She obtained her medical degree (MDCM) at McGill University in 1994, did her pediatrics training at Hôpital Ste Justine, and completed a fellowship in Neonatal Follow-Up at the Montreal Children’s Hospital in 1999.  Her research interests include the implementation of evidence-based practices to improve long-term developmental outcomes in extremely preterm infants as well as long-term outcomes of infants with hypoxic-ischemic injury.  The presentation is divided into two sections - "What?" and "How?". In the first section, I will review what is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) - which domains of child development are affected; how common is it in the general population and in prematurely born children; and what are some of the factors that increase the risk of having ASD. Dr. Khairy will also briefly touch upon how it is diagnosed, as well as goals and approaches for intervention when children have this diagnosis. The second section is about how parents and clinicians can work together for the early identification of preterm children with concerning signs so that they can be flagged to the appropriate resources in a timely fashion for further evaluation.  In this section, Dr. Khairy will review early social-communication precursors in the first 18 months and how families can promote early language development in their preterm infant.  Finally, we will look at "red flags" in development or behavior that should prompt further attention.