Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use appears to be increasing in children with developmental disorders. However, it is not clear whether parents perceive their healthcare providers as resources who are knowledgeable about CAM therapies and are interested in further developing their knowledge. Objectives: (1) To establish and compare use of, and perceived satisfaction with, traditional medicine and CAM in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and (2) to assess parental perceptions of physician knowledge of CAM and physician interest in continuing education about CAM for the two groups of parents. Methods: Families of children with a diagnosis of ADHD or ASD were surveyed regarding the frequency of use of traditional treatment and CAM, parental perceptions of the helpfulness of each therapy, parental perceptions regarding physicians' knowledge level about CAM, and physician interest in continuing education. Results: Thirty-six percent (n = 135) of 378 surveys were returned: 41 contained a diagnosis of ADHD and 22 of ASD. Traditional therapies were used by 98% of children with ADHD and 100% of those with ASD. Perceived helpfulness of medication was 92% for children with ADHD and 60% for children with ASD ( p < 0.05). CAM was used for 19.5% of children with ADHD and 82% of children with ASD. Perceived satisfaction for any form of CAM in the children with ADHD was at an individual patient level. Satisfaction for two of the most commonly used CAM treatments in children with ASD ranged from 50% to 78%. In children with ASD (the diagnostic group with the highest use of and satisfaction with CAM), physician's perceived knowledge of CAM was lower (14% versus 38%; p < 0.05), as was perceptions of the physician's interest in learning more ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: CAM use is significant, especially in children with ASD. Physicians are not perceived as a knowledgeable resource.

The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of utilization of Tay Sachs disease screening by the Ashkenazi Jewish population. Pregnant women who were referred to one of three genetic centers in New Jersey for amniocentesis unrelated to Tay Sachs screening were the study population. 4490 charts were reviewed retrospectively to determine the at risk population for Tay Sachs disease (Ashkenazi Jews) and whether or not patients and their spouses had elected Tay Sachs screening prior to referral. A group of 25 patients who did not elect screening were questioned as to their specific reason for declining Tay Sachs screening. Overall community utilization was 90%. Of the couples who did not elect screening, 64% felt that their risk to have an affected child was too small, 16% could not recall Tay Sachs screening being offered to them, 8% felt that screening was inconvenient. Tay Sachs screening as a voluntary preventive health care program has a high utilization rate in our study group.

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was performed on a 4-year-old girl with autism. While sedated, she listened to three utterances (numbers, hello, her own first name) played through headphones. Based on analyses of the fMRI data, the amount of total brain activation varied with the content of the utterance. The greatest volume of overall activation was in response to numbers, followed by the word 'hello', with the least activation to her name. Frontal cortex activation was greatest in response to her name, with less activation for numbers, and the least for the word 'hello.' These findings indicate that fMRI can identify and quantify the brain regions that are activated in response to words in children with autism under sedation.

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SUMMARY The authors report the case of a 21/2‐year‐old male with autism, with an 18q‐ chromosomal abnormality in the absence of phenotypical features of the 18q‐ syndrome. It is suggested that clinicians evaluating children with autistic disorders consider obtaining chromosome analysis, even in the absence of phenotypical abnormalities. RÉSUMÉ Anomalie chromosomique 18q‐ chez un autistique phénotypiquement normal âgé de deux ans et demi Les auteurs rapportent le cas d'un jeune autistique de deux ans et de demi, présentant une anomalie chromosomique 18q‐ sans les caractéristiques phénotypiques du syndrome 18q‐. Les auteurs conseillent done aux cliniciens de pratiquer une analyse des chromosomes devant tout autisme, même en l'absence d'anomalies phénotypiques. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG 18q‐ Chromosomenanomalie bei einem phänotypisch normalen 21/2A‐jährigen Jungen mit Autismus Die Autoren berichten über den Fall eines 21/2‐jährigen Jungen mit Autismus mit einer 18q‐Chromosomenanomalie ohne die phänotypischen Merkmale des 18q‐ Syndroms. Es wird angeregt, daß von Kindern mit autistischen Erkankungen Chromosomenuntersuchungen gemacht werden, auch wenn keine phänotypischen Anomalien vorliegen. RESUMEN Anomalía cromosómica 18q‐ en un niño de dos anos y medio, varón, fenolipicamente normal, con autismo Los autores aportan el caso de un varón de dos años y medio con autismo, con una anomalía cromosómica 18q‐, y con ausencia de características fenotípicas del síndrome 18q‐. Se sugiere que la evaluación clínica de niños con alteraciones autísticas debe incluir la obtención de un análisis cromosómico, incluso en ausencia de anomalías fenotipícas.