A Bermudian educational policy expert working abroad wants to see the age for early childhood autism screenings lowered in Bermuda.

Dr. TerryLynn Tyrell who is education director for Advocates for Children and Youth in Baltimore, Maryland is in Bermuda today to speak during the Bermuda Autism Support & Education Society (BASE) panel discussion 'Let's Talk About Autism' held in the Mount St. Agnes Auditorium from 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm .

Dr. Tyrell recently graduated with a Doctor of Education degree in Special Education from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She did her dissertation research in Bermuda focusing on early detection of autism spectrum disorders.

Although the Child Development Project (CDP) screens three-year-olds for autism, Dr. Tyrell felt screenings for autism and other learning disabilities need to start earlier.

"This is something that BASE and other parents are interested in," she said. "I get calls and emails from people in Bermuda, concerned about the lack of early screening for anything. There are sometimes warning signs for autism earlier than three-years-old. BASE is doing a great thing for parents and for the community raising awareness about it."

Dr. Tyrell said that the gap between when parents feel there is something wrong and when the child gets an actual diagnosis is far too long. She said if you factor in the long wait list for a diagnosis abroad, parents can wait as long as four to six years. Just getting someone to take their concerns seriously can be a problem for many parents. And during the the long wait parents can miss a crucial development window of opportunity.

"Pediatricians typically advise parents worried about their child's development to 'wait it out'," said Dr. Tyrell. "The research is bearing out that this is not the right thing to do. We tell parents, if you think something is wrong, try and get help from someone who will listen."

And for Bermudian parents it can be quite costly to get a diagnosis as it involves airfare, hotel cost, two days of diagnostics and a diagnosis that may or may not be covered by insurance.

"Unfortunately, lowering the screening age would require more resources and more funding," she said. "There are a lot of things at play that are going on. The other thing about autism is the incidence is rising, and I am not sure that the number of people who have it in Bermuda is enough to get things rolling. But it is a serious issue. Parents often feel really lost.

"There is more that we can do for children with autism and more we can do for families. The practice has to catch up with the research."

She said many pediatricians need to do more than just give babies vaccinations and check their vitals. She felt they must also look more carefully at the child's development.

"There needs to be more public awareness about what typical development looks like," she said. "It should be a policy that someone is screening zero to three for certain things. I would call for a more comprehensive assessment of the child."

She said the great thing about Bermuda is that there are lots of resources for parents to pull from.

"A lot of people are passionate about what they do," she said. "The staff at the Child Development Project are super. I can't even say that enough."

In Baltimore, Dr. Tyrell works with Advocates for Children & Youth, a charity that promotes policies, practices and agendas that service kids, particularly children who are minority or low income. Their domains are education and juvenile justice. They also tackle racial disparities.

"We examine any practices or policies that may impact a child," Dr. Tyrell said. "Last year, I dealt with a case where a child died because he did not get proper dental care. He died because the abscess in his mouth went septic. He was eligible for medicare, but there aren't enough dentists in the city who are signed up to take part in the programme. There are children who haven't had dental care for four to five years."

She said her organisation tries to target issues that can be prevented. Shortly before coming to Bermuda this week, she and her team gave a presentation to the Baltimore City Council on Advocates for Children & Youth's campaign 'Maryland can do better for children'.

After the presentation, the Baltimore City Council endorsed the campaign.

"There are disparities in every area in the state of Maryland," she said. "Many children of colour will end up in the juvenile justice system after a first time offense for a minor infraction, instead of therapeutic care. African-American children end up with the more severe penalties compared to their other peers. We highlight the data and present it to the public. When you really look at the data you can see there is a huge racial disparity. When you point out the disparities people are more likely to act. There are system practices in place that people don't realise what they are promoting."

She said that although Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the United States children tend to function in the middle, often with mediocre test scores compared to other nearby states such as Connecticut.

Comparing the situation in Baltimore to that in Bermuda, she said, "Bermuda may be a lot wealthier but we have a lot higher standard of living," she said. "Parents are still trying to make ends meet. There are a lot of families in Bermuda who work longer than they would like to which means they spend less time with their children. Nationally, people leave a lot of the work to the school system. That is not every parent, but it happens even in private school."

But she said parents must work in concert with the school.

"The community has to give support to the school," she said. "YouthNet and Big Sisters and Big Brothers are great resources. I don't know if people realise how important those are to child who doesn't have a parent in their life.

"All these things impact the child's education. It also impacts their social life. If a child knows that someone cares about them and is in tune with what they are doing and monitoring their behaviour, it helps with their confidence. Someone has their back. For every hour a child is with a mentor that is one less hour that they are unsupervised."

Other speakers in the BASE panel discussion will include local parents of children with autism, Dr. Neil Hoffman, senior staff psychologist in the department of neuropsychology at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, Geneva Centre for Autism Sr. Programme Director, Neil Walker, and others.

On Wednesday, BASE will be holding a tag day to raise funds for the organisation.

For more information telephone Thea Furbert at 236-8307 or Trish Crowe at 535-7277 or email them at BASEBDA@yahoo.com.