Autism: Neuro offers only bilingual training in Canada

Montreal-The Montreal Neurological Hospital Institute is the only establishment in Canada to offer bilingual training to clinicians who wish to improve their skills in terms of screening. Consequently, diagnostic for autism.

This virtual program allows. For example, among other things, to train clinicians from distant areas of Quebec, improving the care of autism in the regions.

This program is all the more necessary since autism specialists are often grouped in large centers. Furthermore, recalled its manager, neuropsychologist Julie Scorah.

“The distant communities do not have access to it,” she said. However, So. However, it’s really a way of equipping well (clinicians) to see these patients, to give them more specialized knowledge; It is a way of distributing evidence, diagnostic guidelines, so that all health professionals have access to this knowledge. In addition, ”

The program allows clinicians of distant regions. In addition, autism: neuro offers only bilingual precisely, to have access to specialists who are far from home to learn “how to improve their care for patients”, she completed.

It is estimated that it is generally necessary to wait nine months. more in the private sector, and more than a year to the public, before obtaining a diagnosis of autism in Quebec, since few clinics are able to provide such a diagnosis, especially for adults.

And in the absence of diagnosis. people with autistic people do not receive any specialized assistance in the fields of education, work or even health.

The program therefore aims to strengthen the capacity of clinicians to diagnose autism as well as to take the condition in charge. said Ms. Scorah, “since there are not many people who know how to diagnose autism”.

“(Clinicians) need to know how to work with these people, how to provide them with appropriate services,” she said. autism: neuro offers only bilingual It is for the diagnosis, but it is also for continuous care. ”

Training allow different specialists – ranging from psychiatrists to neuropsychologists. including developmental pediatricians and neurologists – but also people who live with autism to share their knowledge and knowledge.

The session begins with a presentation of twenty minutes of PowerPoint style. after which we discuss a specific case by making sure to anonymize the patient’s personal data. The questions are often asked by the participants of the distant regions who need the opinion of specialists.

“We always provide recommendations after discussing the case,” said Scorah. This is how participants learn, by discussing real cases and seeing what are the recommendations of specialists. ”

Training is announced on a website and through a sending list to which more than a thousand people are subscribed. Ads are also made on social networks.

The participants, said Ms. Scorah, find “very autism: neuro offers only bilingual interesting” to be able to discuss with specialists to whom they would otherwise have access.

“They appreciate this ‘direct line’. to see what other members of the (medical) community do with their patients,” she concluded. They like this connection with other professionals. They realize that they are not the only ones to have the same questions or the same problems. ”