Since last summer, Zehgeer has been holding an autism specialty clinic as part of her practice at UConn Health\u2019s West Hartford office<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI started realizing that sometimes kids presented with anxiety or some other symptoms and they were never diagnosed with autism,\u201d Zehgeer says. \u201cThey would start having problems once they would have more social demands, problems with socialization, and that would cause them to have anxiety and depression. I started realizing that autism is more prevalent. Sometimes it\u2019s not diagnosed until the child reaches a certain age.\u201d<\/p>\n While Zehgeer is capable of providing a clinical diagnosis of autism, her primary focus is on medication management and psychiatric evaluation.<\/p>\n \u2018A Real Need\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a real need in the community for child psychiatrists who can manage an autistic population,\u201d says Geraldine Pearson<\/a>, nurse practitioner and director of UConn Health\u2019s child and adolescent psychiatry practice<\/a>. \u201cThe whole axiom about the mental health system in Connecticut and this country being broken is so true. They\u2019re fragmented. We\u2019re trying to keep them as unfragmented as possible in this clinic, trying to make a continuity of care that families can embrace.\u201d<\/p>\n In some situations, Zehgeer\u2019s assessment can help uncover a previously undiagnosed case of autism. Other times it will rule it out altogether.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s the behavioral and psychological conditions, not the autism itself, that are the main targets of Zehgeer\u2019s specialty clinic. She handles the medication management for those conditions, while community providers or school districts handle the general behavioral interventions such as speech therapy and occupational therapy.<\/p>\n Parents\u2019 Role<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s little question that parents play a crucial role in the development of their children, and Zehgeer says that\u2019s especially true in autistic children, where that role comes with the added charge of being familiar with\u2014and involved in\u2014the treatment strategy.<\/p>\n That can mean administering medications to manage the comorbidities. It also can mean understanding the behavioral interventions as they reinforce what their child is learning in school.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are like the case managers for their children,\u201d Zehgeer says. \u201cIt\u2019s like they have their therapists 24\/7, so they understand their behaviors better than any therapists can. They help the other providers to help their children. It\u2019s through the parents we can help the best because they know them in and out, their triggers, their strengths, what\u2019s hard for them, what\u2019s not. And they keep on changing, so they give you constant feedback. Based on that feedback you can have effective intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n All parents, Zehgeer says, should understand that mental health problems in children are very common and can have a significant impact on learning and overall development.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce they\u2019re educated about these problems and how prevalent they are, they will be able to identify them early on, and get the proper intervention early on, so that it doesn\u2019t reach that level where they\u2019re more challenging and more resistant to treatment,\u201d Zehgeer says. \u201cI think the schools play an important role in educating the parent.\u201d<\/p>\n Zehgeer\u2019s patients range in age from 4 to 17. In her specialty clinic, she sees patients across the autism spectrum, from mild to severe, both verbal and nonverbal.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Zehgeer.jpg\")