Cheryl Tierney

• MD, MPH
• Section Chief, Developmental Pediatrics at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine

Through a presented case scenario, this article describes the assessment and management of behaviors associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the pediatric population, with mnemonics as a memory tool. Although students present mainly to the school nurses’ office with physical complaints, there are many mental health concerns in the school-...

The Autism Mental Status Exam (AMSE) is a brief clinician-completed observational instrument that has shown promise in identifying autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a referred sample. Our study explores the feasibility of the AMSE in both developmental pediatric and primary care samples. Fifty-three toddlers with ASD and other disabilities were sco...

Objective Clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) relies on time-consuming subjective assessments. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of salivary microRNAs for differentiating children with ASD from peers with typical development (TD), and non-autism developmental delay (DD). The secondary purpose was to e...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with several oropharyngeal abnormalities, including buccal sensory sensitivity, taste and texture aversions, speech apraxia, and salivary transcriptome alterations. Furthermore, the oropharynx represents the sole entry point to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. GI disturbances and alterations in the GI mi...

Communication problems and tantrums are common in children with autism. It has long been postulated that lack of speech is a cause of these tantrums. The goal of our study is to determine if impaired speech is associated with tantrums in preschool children with autism. The relationship between language and tantrum frequency in 240 children with aut...

Childhood apraxia of speech is a neurologic speech sound disorder in which children have difficulty constructing words and sounds due to poor motor planning and coordination of the articulators required for speech sound production. We report the case of a 3-year-old boy strongly suspected to have childhood apraxia of speech at 18 months of age who...

Our objective was to determine if the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD) was inadvertently overemphasizing autism symptoms in a population of children without autism. Children noted with communication delays were referred to both a developmental pediatrician and a speech and language pathologist for an apraxia and autism evaluation. All...

Case: Chase is a 5½-year-old boy whom you have followed in your primary care practice since age 26 months. He was born full-term vaginal delivery weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces. His biological mother used heroin, tobacco, and cocaine during pregnancy. From 8 weeks to 18 months, he spent time in a foster home where he was provided limited attention an...

This article provides an analysis of the effectiveness of commonly used interventions for social pragmatic interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and social communication disorders. Several evidence-based social skills interventions are emerging, including peer mentoring, social skills groups, and video modeling. Social stor...

Agreement between the final DSM-5 ASD criteria, Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD) was assessed in 143 children with ASD and other disorders (e.g., ADHD, intellectual disability, and oppositional defiant disorder). Diagnostic agreement between the CARS and CASD was high (94%), but their agreement...

Case: Marcus is a handsome, sweet, 7½-year-old boy with a significant history of delayed development, specifically in speech and language skills, as well as difficulties with social interactions that have led other specialists to be concerned about a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder.He has been seen in our primary care practice since birth...

Autism, childhood apraxia of speech and central auditory processing disorder are associated with significant disability. These conditions can be more difficult to diagnose. With significant controversy surrounding their definitions and most effective treatment options, understanding these conditions better may optimize outcomes. As earlier diagnosi...

Strong scientific evidence and national recommendations support the use of reminder and recall messages to improve immunization coverage rates, yet reports have suggested that only a minority of pediatric practices use such messages. Our aims were to 1) determine the proportions of pediatric practices and public clinics that currently use practice-...