October 15, 2014

Nursing of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence-Based Integrated Care across the Lifespan, a book co-edited by Associate Professor and Director of the Certificate Program in Nursing Care of Autism Spectrum Disorder Ellen Giarelli, PhD, is set to be translated into Chinese and distributed in China. Springer Publishing Company, which originally published the book, has contracted with Psychological Publishing Company, Ltd. to make this a reality. Translations typically take up to two years to publish.

The book was designed to help nurses and other health care professionals integrate an understanding of autism spectrum disorder into patient care. “The presumption is that, with the current prevalence rate (1 in 75 in Philadelphia County), sooner or later every nurse or health professional will come across a patient with Autism in addition to any other medical problems for which they need to be treated,” Giarelli said. Nursing of Autism Spectrum Disorder covers health promotion, treatment, and disease prevention throughout each segment of the lifespan: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and end-of-life.

The second assumption upon which her book is founded, Giarelli explained, is that in order to give best practice evidence-based care, health care providers need to be able to integrate an understanding of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into treatment plans and patient interactions. The book additionally gives background information about autism and addresses special topics such as cancer care in the adult patient with autism. Joan Bloch, an associate professor in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Department, has also written a chapter for Giarelli’s book. Each chapter is authored by an individual with specific expertise.

“This is the first book ever on this topic. Traditionally, the care of people with autism has been focused on mental health services and educational services for individuals up to 21 years in age. This is a landmark kind of book for people to change the way that care will be delivered,” said Giarelli.

Please join us for our conference on November 8, 2014, Creating Integrated Healthcare Services for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Click here for conference information and to register.

By Mahmoud Shurbaji ‘15