Patterns of Referral and Clinical Presentation of Autism Spectrum Disorder

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This study is one of the very few attempts to determine the patterns of referrals of ASD in a tertiary hospital in the UAE while being one of the few dedicated ones to analyzing the general spectrum of symptomatology to interpret better general practitioners' understanding of the disease's vast and complex clinical presentation. Since this study took place, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has published a first-edition document titled "Dubai Clinical Practice Guidelines for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Children and Adolescents," designed to align physician recognition and practice with the government objectives towards all individuals with ASD. This article meets the goals of the study in providing a more standardized reference for local physicians in identifying and assessing the appropriate clinical features expected to be found in patients with ASD in comparison to other neurodevelopmental disorders that share similar features. Future directions of this study would entail expanding the exploration of referral patterns between multiple institutions to understand local physicians' perceptions of ASD better and acquire statistics that better represent the UAE. Additionally, developing a possible screening program designed specifically to identify Autism Spectrum in its early phases, based on local and international data, will dramatically improve the chances of early recognition of ASD and appropriate management of these patients in the UAE.

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