Content area
Full Text
PURPOSE. This article explores the challenges that patients with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) face when hospitalized and provides assessment strategies and plan-of-care suggestions for nursing caregivers.
CONCLUSIONS. With a high prevalence rate of medical comorbidities among this population, such as gastrointestinal complaints and seizures, nurses are likely to care for hospitalized patients with an ASD.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. For a child with an ASD, hospitalization can be an overwhelming sensory and cognitive experience. Nurses equipped with an understanding of the unique needs of a child with ASD can tailor the plan of care to reduce patient and family anxiety, optimize treatment goals, and reduce the stress of hospitalization.
Search terms: Autism, autistic spectrum disorder, hospitalization, medical condition, medical management, nursing care, plan of care
There is an increasing societal awareness in identification of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Kogan and others (2009) recently reported prevalence of parentreported ASD for children ages 3-17 years in the United States as about 1% or 110 per 10,000 children. Almost half (49.6%) of the parents surveyed rated their children's ASD severity as "mild." Using the most current and widely adopted prevalence statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009) estimated that there are approximately 560,000 children across the United States between the ages of birth and 21 years living with an ASD. The prevalence of children with ASD has now surpassed rates for children with well-known conditions such as cancer, Down syndrome, and spina bifida (Filipek et al., 1999; Muhle, Trentacoste, & Rapin, 2004).
As ASD prevalence rates rise, it becomes imperative for nurses in any setting, primary or acute care, to understand the unique challenges of this population. A planned inpatient admission offers an opportunity to put patient-specific interventions into place that can diminish the anxiety provoked by healthcare environments. An unplanned acute hospital admission, however, can compound the significant anxiety that a child with ASD experiences. Their physiologic status is compromised, and their coping abilities, as well as those of their families, are stretched. The varying levels of impaired social interaction, communication, and stereotypical behaviors characteristic of the child with ASD can further heighten the stress of the child and family.
The purpose of this article is to describe the challenges that children with ASD...