8/3/2019 Putting MAPS on the Map: Defining the Movement Forward

1/1AUTISM SCIENCE DIGEST: THE JOURNAL OF AUTISMONE ISSUE 04 www.autsmone.org

n important movement has beeninitiated that holds great promiseor the uture o autism preventionand recovery. Te MedicalAcademy o Pediatric Special

Needs (MAPS) has a s its mission to provide educationand long-term support or practitioners, ensuring thequality and consistency o medical care or children

with autism and related chronic conditions.Although much o the ocus will be on autism,

MAPS will deal with all things pediatric, includingallergies, asthma, attention-decit/hyperactivitydisorder, immune dysunction, and more.

Prolic author, researcher, and clinician DanielA. Rossignol, MD, FAAFP, serves as president, andholistic, board certied pediatrician David Berger,MD, FAAP, serves as vice president. I interviewed Dr.Berger, who has a superb track record o preventing

autism and other chronic illnesses in his pediatricpopulation, and I was excited and encouraged by whathe told me o MAPS.

I rst asked Dr. Berger why there was a need orMAPS. Dr. Berger began by telling me why MAPSis unique, exempliying the need: Tis is a programdeveloped by physicians, organized by physicians, andtaught by physiciansforphysicians. Clinicians will needto go through a series o requirements beore obtaining the level o Fellowship.

Te MAPS curriculum will center on conerences that consist o two levelso training. MAPS will oer several levels o aliation. Anyone who works

with individuals on the autism spectrum can be a member o MAPS and attend

MAPS conerences; however, only prescribing practitioners who can implementpharmacological strategies can move to the Candidate and then the Fellow levelso MAPS. Te reason or this is that individuals with an autism diagnosis ofenhave underlying conditionswhat some people call comorbidthat may benetgreatly rom some prescription medications.

A Candidate is a prescribing practitioner who has completed one conerence.o become a Fellow, a Candidate must complete both training conerences, passa written examination, and complete a mentorship with an existing MAPS Fellowand Mentor; this includes on-site mentoring and longer-term case reviews. Fellowsare taught to deliver a systematic, evidence-based standard o care. Te great beneto this to parents is that then there can be a published practitioner resource list, andthe parents will know that these clinicians have met all criteria to be a Fellow.

MAPS takes accountability to children and amilies very seriously. A review

board will be established where parents can le acomplaint i a MAPS practitioner has gone outsidethe standard o ca re or treated a patient poorly. Loss oMAPS Fellowship status is a real consequence.

Te take-home message is that MAPS is dening

standard o care and prioritizes true quality control.Dr. Berger is excited to be a MAPS physician: Bydening standard o care, Im excited or the parentsa parent will know who should be trustworthy, anddoctors can know who is a sae reerral rom a collegialperspective.

He described a logical and hopeul road orward: Ocourse, we see the importance o properly educatingand evaluating doctors. Ten, by establishing standardo care, we can build databases and do clinical research,data tracking, and compilation in standardized ways.

We can then publish what biomedical therapies aredoing, urther dening standard o care. We can

test new treatments. Well be able to encourage parents that urther treatmentsare on the horizonto check back and not to give up. We will publish, and thesepublications will spread hope and awareness to the general public. I appreciatedthe value o comparing medical and behavioral databases in the uture becausethat could potentially show how much biomedical therapies improve core ASDoutcomes.

Something that I rea lly got out o hearing Dr. Berger talk was that there is muchto study. Tere are so many phenotypic presentationsthe dierent ways thatindividuals on the spectrum look and unctionand we need to rationally and inan organized manner tea se these issues out. MAPS will do that. In th is way, medicinecan be tailored to the individual, and we can u nderstand dierent actors that can gointo a consequent autism diagnosis in an eort to prevent possible degradation o

health or yet-unaected children.As MAPS progresses, papers will be publishedthis is so important. And it ishoped that universities will be more inclined to study this arena and participate inthe type o train ing and investigation that MAPS is doing. It will be a wonderul day

when MAPS physicians in academic posts are able to train other doctors.Dr. Berger summed up our talk, outlining three reasons that MAPS oers

hope: 1) parents wil l be able to nd qualied, experienced physicians; 2) there wil lbe research or new treatments to help children; and 3) we can stave o autism insiblings as parents consult with MAPS doctors or testing and treatment to preventthe development o autism. Te big thing is just k nowing thatsomething CAN be done!

Dr. Bergers own practice has beaten the odds o autism, diabetes, asthma, andmore. MAPS is not just about autismits about raising healthier kids!www.medmaps.org

Putting MAPS on the

MAP: defining the

MoveMent forwArdBy TeRI AR RANgA

Copyright 2012, Autism International Association, Inc.

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