how many instances of l are there in:
individual intensive interventions, including behavioral, educational, and psychological components, are the most effective treatments of autistic disorder. beginning the treatment early in infancy increases the likelihood of a favorable outcome. thus, regular screening of infants and toddlers for symptoms and signs of autistic disorder is crucial because it allows for early identification of these patients.
individuals with autism spectrum disorder and unspecified pervasive developmental disorder typically benefit from behaviorally oriented therapeutic programs developed specifically for this population. autistic children should be placed in these specialized programs as soon as the diagnosis is entertained.
parents, teachers, pediatricians, and other health care providers are advised to seek the assistance of people who are familiar with early intervention programs for children with autistic disorder. the autism society can help parents to obtain appropriate referrals for optimal interventions.
parents understandably become exhausted by the relentless performance of challenging behaviors by their child with autism. a specially trained educator or behavioral psychologist can help to teach them effective ways to modify these challenging behaviors. parents also frequently benefit from temporary respite from the child.
limited, largely anecdotal evidence suggests that dietary measures may be helpful in some children with autism. avoidance of certain foods, notably those containing gluten or casein, and supplementation with specific vitamins and minerals have reportedly proved helpful in select cases.
the education for all handicapped children act of 1975 requires free and appropriate public education for all children, regardless of the extent and severity of their handicaps. amendments to the education of the handicapped act of 1986 extended the requirement for free and appropriate education to children aged 3–5 years.
pediatricians and parents cannot assume, however, that their community’s school will provide satisfactory education for a child with autistic disorder or a related condition. the individuals with disabilities education act authorized states to determine how to provide educational services to children younger than 3 years. pediatricians and parents need to determine the best way to proceed with local agencies.
legal assistance may be necessary to influence a board of education to fund appropriate education for a child with autistic disorder or a related condition. the autism society maintains a web site and offers a toll-free hotline (1-800-3-autism/1-800-328-8476). this resource provides information and referral services to the public.
serotonergic drugs are reportedly beneficial for improving behavior in autism. hyperactivity often improves with methylphenidate therapy.
additionally, treatments may be indicated for an underlying condition. for example, children with biotin-responsive infantile encephalopathy improve with the addition of biotin.
children with autistic disorder are at risk of developing a serotonin syndrome when treated with serotonergic agents. therefore, children who are treated with serotonergic agents should be evaluated at baseline before beginning treatment and then regularly evaluated for symptoms of a serotonin syndrome using the serotonin syndrome checklist. see the image below for a printable version.
various interventions, including chiropractic manipulations, are reported to help with autistic disorder. the results of individual case reports, however, cannot be generalized to the overall autistic population; scientific research is needed to investigate whether treatments truly are generally helpful.
beneficial effects from hyperbaric oxygen therapy have been reported in 6 patients with autism. the risks of this procedure must be weighed against the benefits for individual patients. controlled clinical trials and other studies are needed to confirm the potential value of this intervention.
in the study of 17 high-functioning children and adolescents with asd, brain centers associated with reward and emotion recognition responded more during social tasks when children received oxytocin instead of a placebo.
although behavioral studies in children and adults suggest that a single dose of intranasal oxytocin improves social interaction and comprehension of affective speech, results from clinical trials examining the effect of daily administration of the drug have been mixed.
children with autism and related conditions typically benefit from intensive, thorough evaluation performed by experienced professionals. intensive diagnostic evaluation and treatment are accomplished quickly and effectively by well-trained clinicians at well-staffed centers. valuable resources are listed below.

user
In that passage, there are 181 occurrences of the letter "l."
assistant