How Do I Get An Official Diagnosis?
Suspecting that you or a loved one may have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be difficult to handle, especially when you don't know where to start. Googling "Do I have autism?" or "Autism test" may only give you a surface-level guess. These results are not official, could be subjective, tend to be broad rather than specific, and may cause the person to be misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all. That is why it is extremely important to find a professional who will be able to accurately assess the individual and give a personalized diagnosis.
What To Expect
The diagnosis process for children, adolescents, and adults are similar but each have their own nuances. On this blog, we are going to focus on ASD in children but we will link some resources for adolescents and adults to use as well.
When you take your child in for an official diagnosis, they will be walked through a process that consists of two parts: A general developmental screening and an additional diagnostic evaluation. The general developmental screening usually occurs during the well-child checkups that all children should have with their pediatrician. During these screenings, your pediatrician will observe your child while making sure that they are meeting the developmental expectations for kids their age. It is beneficial to disclose any family medical history as it will help the doctor make a more accurate assessment. This includes learning disorders, behavior disorders, attention disorders, and ASD.
Part One: General Check-Up Screening
- Make sure that you bring in your child for well-child checkups at the appropriate ages. The ages are 9 months, 18 months, and 24 or 30 months. If the medical professional believes that your child may have ASD, they will begin conducting ASD screening at 18 and 24 months.
- An official diagnosis of ASD can be given as young as 18 months. By the time your child turns 2, the diagnosis is far more reliable. However, the final diagnosis may not happen until years later. That is why it's important to bring your child in for well-child checkups as soon as you can.
- During screening, the medical professional may catch something that needs a deeper evaluation. The deeper evaluation may be done by a language pathologist, occupational therapist, or other specialists.
Part Two: A Deeper Evaluation
- The medical professional will administer testing to the child and give you questionnaires to fill out about you and your child's history. As previously stated, make sure to disclose all medical history necessary to allow doctors to make a more accurate assessment.
- The testing may include physical evaluations such as blood tests and hearing tests
- Expect the evaluation to cover complex issues. The child will be observed doing daily tasks, given an assessment of their language and cognitive capabilities, and be given medical and neurological exams.
- Once all of the testing results, medical history, questionnaires, and other resources are compiled and analyzed, the medical professionals will give you their final decision.
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