Optometric Care of Patients Diagnosed with ASD

2 credits (3 ECTS Credits)

Optometric Care Of Patients On The Autism Spectrum

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Introduction

Optometrists can work together with other disciplines for the benefit of their patients on the autism spectrum. This course provides background about the diagnosis and daily lives of patients on the spectrum from a variety of guest lecturers: a developmental psychologist, speech pathologist, special education teacher, and mother of a child on the autism spectrum. This course covers visual assessment and treatment of patients on the autism spectrum, when to refer the patients to other disciplines, and the relative timing of the interventions.

Course Structure

13 hours of recorded online lectures
Four live sessions on Zoom
Lecturers from the fields of psychology and communication disorders provide an interdisciplinary approach
Firsthand account by the mother of a child on the autism spectrum.

Learning Outcomes

After successfully completing the course, participants will be able to:

Adapt optometric exams for patients on the autism spectrum
Explain the value of synergistic diagnosis and treatments of varying disciplines working together in treating patients on the autism spectrum
Identify when to refer patients to other disciplines, specifically with regard to the relative timing of different interventions in an overall coordinated approach to helping those on the autism spectrum
Describe how the common pathway hypothesis links together very different phenomena associated with the autism spectrum and gain insight into how treatment in one domain directly impacts others