Legislation passed last Friday in the Kentucky House of Representatives codifies a new Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders. We learn more about this Council and how it reshapes services to ASD individuals with the Medical Director of the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, Dr. Allen Brenzel, a Lexington Pediatrician and Child Psychiatrist. Kate Lochte opens the discussion by asking how this council differs from its predecessor, created during the administration of Governor Ernie Fletcher in 2005.
"Autism is a condition that often becomes apparent in very early childhood; the individuals may have a period of normal development in the first year of life, but, typically, between a year to two years they begin to show some of the deficits associated with it. They might lose some of their developmental milestones, they may be delayed in acquisition and development of speech. There are new tools we are developing that include screening instruments that families can participate in with their primary care doctors around identifying some of the early symptoms."
Lexington pediatrician and child psychiatrist Dr. Allen Brenzel is the Medical Director of the Kentucky Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities.
More on HB 296: The Kentucky Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders.
