Azalea Pediatrics provides primary care for infants, children and teens in Columbus, GA.
Amy Brown, MD
Azalea Pediatrics provides primary care for infants, children and teens in Columbus, GA.
Amy Brown, MD
Accepting Most Private Insurance. Now scheduling for Georgia Medicaid, Amerigroup and Caresource. Peachstate pending approval.
We look forward to meeting you!
Partnerships Built on Trust
Choosing a pediatrician for your child is an important decision! We value effective communication and strive to establish long term relationships built on mutual respect and trust.
New Patients Welcome
Thank you for trusting us with your child’s health. We welcome new patients starting at birth, and established patients can be seen up to their nineteenth birthday.
We Accept Most Insurance
In order to be as accessible as possible to the families in our community, we take most insurances, including Medicaid.
Get the Right Dose
Be confident that you are treating your child’s pain or fever with the correct dose of medication. We can guide you on how much to give, based on your child’s weight.
From now through the first week of July you can donate non perishables for Feeding the Valley Food Bank in the lobby of the office. Just drop them in the box by checkin. ... See MoreSee Less
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What is Juneteenth?
Over the last few days I have seen much discourse over the newest federal holiday including people who did not even know that today is now a federal holiday.
Juneteenth, shortened from June the Nineteenth, is the day set to commemorate and celebrate the ending of chattel slavery in the United States.
While the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, slaves in the confederacy were not freed until after the Civil War ended and the 13th amendment was ratified. On June 19th, 1865 Union soldiers arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas and announced that all 250,00 enslaved people in the state were now free by presidential order. It did unfortunately take much more time to actually free all the enslaved people June 19th become the day to celebrate. Prior to being known as Juneteenth the day was known Freedom Day and as Jubilee Day in Texas. In 2021 Juneteenth was made a federal holiday. Today gives us a chance to reflect, celebrate and listen which will hopefully lead to better tomorrows. ... See MoreSee Less
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Hear hear!
Tomorrow we will be closed for in office appointments in celebration of Juneteenth. You can call and leave a message if you have urgent questions. We will be open back up for normal business hours on Thursday. ... See MoreSee Less
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Happy Father’s Day ... See MoreSee Less
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Health Education Series #1
Welcome to my new health information series I am writing. If you have any particular topics you would like to see an article one, just leave a comment. Any comments with medical misinformation will be deleted.
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is extremely common and affects 1 in 36 children. Boys are diagnosed more frequently than girls. The rates of ASD are rising, and the biggest reason is improved recognition and diagnosis but research is ongoing so there may be other factors as well. ASD is an extremely complex topic with information and opinions from medical professionals, autistic people and families of autistic people.
What causes autism?
ASD is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism. Autism is also not caused by parenting.
What are signs of autism?
ASD is a developmental disability and as such there are many signs of autism, but the diagnostic criteria include difficulties with social interaction, difficulties with communication, repetitive behaviors, hyper fixations and these cannot be explained by another diagnosis. These must cause difficulties in navigating everyday life to meet diagnostic criteria.
Autism does have many co-morbidities including seizures, sleep problems, GI problems and behavioral health problems like ADHD, anxiety, etc.
How is a child diagnosed?
All children should be screened for autism at their 18- and 24-month checkups with a parent survey called an M-CHAT. If this screening is positive the child should then be referred for formal testing. Formal testing can be done by a variety of different behavioral health and medical professionals. General Pediatricians, Developmental Pediatricians, neurologists, psychologists and psychiatrists can undergo the necessary training to diagnose. Unfortunately, some insurance companies do require specific people to make the diagnosis even if others in the area have the necessary training. Formal testing includes an interview with the parents or caregivers and observations of the child’s behaviors. This may take place over several visits and the testing generally takes several hours. Children undergoing an autism evaluation should also undergo a hearing evaluation as well as hearing loss can contribute to communication difficulties. Some children may undergo a genetic evaluation as more mutations are being identified that contribute to autism symptoms.
As a parent if you have concerns about possible autism, please let your pediatrician know so they can examine your child and discuss this with you. Generally formal autism testing cannot be done prior to 15 months.
What happens after a diagnosis?
If your child is under the age of three, they will likely be referred to early intervention services. They may also be referred prior to a formal diagnosis for therapies associated with any developmental delays. These services can include physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. For school aged children, they qualify for services provided through the public school system. Your child may also be referred for behavioral therapy. Some people apply for disability through social security for their children.
Autism cannot be cured anyone who says they can cure autism is lying. The goal of therapies is to allow autistic people to live the best lives possible.
Resources for families:
autisticadvocacy.org/about-asan/
www.marcus.org/autism-resources/autism-tips-and-resources
www.autismhopecenter.com/ ... See MoreSee Less
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www.autismhopecenter.com
The Autism Hope Center was formed in 2005, as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. We are a free resource that has been instrumental in bringing programs, services and support to both families and p...0 CommentsComment on Facebook
I am planning on starting a series of posts on common pediatric health problems/conditions such as autism, adhd, asthma, hip dysplasia, etc. If you have a specific condition you would like to see a post on, please comment it below. ... See MoreSee Less
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