Recommendations for Weight Management in Primary Care for Children and Youth with ASD from the Healthy Weight Research Network
January 20, 2021
In response to the lack of training and limited resources to guide primary care providers on weight management for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the Healthy Weight Research Network, funded by the Maternal Child Health Bureau of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and coordinated by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at UMass Medical School, developed a set of recommendations for weight management in primary care for this population. The recommendations were published in the journal Pediatrics in April 2020. The recommendations include suggestions for screening, evaluation, prevention, and intervention, and provide practitioners with suggestions specifically targeted for working with children with ASD their families, allied health professionals, and school systems. They also include modifications to and expansion of the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance on managing childhood obesity, tailored for children and youth with ASD and their families.
The full article can be found here:
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/145/Supplement_1/S126.full.pdf