Ask Dr. Emily

Welcome to the January edition of Ask Dr. Emily! We often receive questions that we want to share with all our readers. To help with this, Dr. Emily Rastall, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Autism Center, will share insights here, on the last Friday of each month, in a question and answer format. We welcome you to send us your questions and Dr. Rastall will do her best to answer them each month. Send your questions to theautismblog@seattlechildrens.org.

Q: Is it possible for an 18 month old boy to sometimes act having all the signs described about autism then some other times he acts completely normal? I can not express how irregular his behavior is. Does that mean he has a variation of autism or some other disorder or is it just his personality at this age? Read full post »

Welcome to the November edition of Ask Dr. Emily! We often receive questions that we want to share with all our readers. To help with this, Dr. Emily Rastall, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Autism Center, will share insights here, on the last Friday of each month, in a question and answer format. We welcome you to send us your questions and Dr. Rastall will do her best to answer them each month. Send your questions to theautismblog@seattlechildrens.org.

Q: My 6-year old son is potty trained at home and at the homes of friends/family but he refuses to use the toilet outside of these familiar situations and subsequently has accidents at school. I am at a loss as to what strategies to suggest since we don’t have these issues at home. Do you have any recommendations for children with challenges successfully using toilets outside of their comfort zone? Read full post »

Welcome to the October edition of Ask Dr. Emily! We often receive questions that we want to share with all our readers. To help with this, Dr. Emily Rastall, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Autism Center, will share insights here, on the last Friday of each month, in a question and answer format. We welcome you to send us your questions and Dr. Rastall will do her best to answer them each month. Send your questions to theautismblog@seattlechildrens.org. 

Q: Do adults with autism experience the same traits as children with autism? For example, will an adult with autism take two hours to eat a pop tart while sitting at a table? Are they slow eaters?

A: Symptoms of autism that are identified in childhood often persist into adulthood. They may shift and change in presentation and/or intensity. It is not uncommon for individuals with autism (from childhood Read full post »

Welcome to the September edition of Ask Dr. Emily! We often receive questions that we want to share with all our readers. To help with this, Dr. Emily Rastall, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Autism Center, will share insights here, on the last Friday of each month, in a question and answer format. We welcome you to send us your questions and Dr. Rastall will do her best to answer them each month. Send your questions to theautismblog@seattlechildrens.org. 

Q: I am a nanny and have taken care of many children who are diagnosed with autism. My grandson also has a diagnosis of autism. At times, when I set a limit (like with portions of food), my grandson and some of the children I care for have a hard time accepting “no.” I try to stay calm and maintain the limit, but sometimes the situation escalates to yelling, hitting, or pushing. What is going on and is there something I can do to handle this better? Read full post »

Welcome to the August edition of Ask Dr. Emily! We often receive questions that we want to share with all our readers. To help with this, Dr. Emily Rastall, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Autism Center, will share insights here, on the last Friday of each month, in a question and answer format. We welcome you to send us your questions and Dr. Rastall will do her best to answer them each month. Send your questions to theautismblog@seattlechildrens.org. 

Q: I have a 6 year old son with autism. It is becoming really difficult to take him out in public due to noises and crowds. He has started covering his ears. We will be out somewhere and he’ll become very upset, completely stop wherever we’re at and yell at me to cover his ears along with his hands. He pushes my hands really tight along with his. We started using sound cancelling headphones and it helps, but he still doesn’t want to go anywhere. Is this a stage that will pass?
Read full post »