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How autism is diagnosed

NAS69965

I wanted to understand how autism is diagnosed. My child is reffered for an autism assessment and I wanted to gain a better understanding of the entire process.

So my child does not eat solids and does not speak enough for his age. He also has a very limited attention span, but I don't know if this is a trait of autism. He was reffered for an autism assessment because of this and because the professionals at that time wrote information down which was incorrect.

Now the professionals that deal with him state the only issues he has are the ones I have stated above. However, the autism team which diagnose people have information which is incorrect 

I wanted to know are the traits which I have mentioned enough to diagnose autism or will they ignore this and only go by what the professionals and the time of the referral have written.

I'm not denying that my child may have autism, but I want him diagnosed correctly in order to receive the correct support. 

Parents

  • What was the information that was incorrect?  It should be possible to challenge that.

    The traits you mention sound inconclusive to me (I'm an autistic adult, not a parent). Language delay could be a few things, but common for autistic children. You might end up getting referred to a speech and language therapist, which may be appropriate.

    'Limited attention span' in some ways is the opposite of autism, but you can get autism and ADHD together, and increasingly diagnostic services will be checking for both at the same time. 

    The diagnostic process or 'pathway' varies between areas, so you may want to ask those professionals involved directly.  Usually there will be multiple appointments, asking you and other family about your child's history, plus some observing him with some play tasks. More than one professional (eg psychologist, child psychiatrist) is usually involved in the diagnosis to make it more reliable, whether confirming he's autistic or that he's not.

Reply

  • What was the information that was incorrect?  It should be possible to challenge that.

    The traits you mention sound inconclusive to me (I'm an autistic adult, not a parent). Language delay could be a few things, but common for autistic children. You might end up getting referred to a speech and language therapist, which may be appropriate.

    'Limited attention span' in some ways is the opposite of autism, but you can get autism and ADHD together, and increasingly diagnostic services will be checking for both at the same time. 

    The diagnostic process or 'pathway' varies between areas, so you may want to ask those professionals involved directly.  Usually there will be multiple appointments, asking you and other family about your child's history, plus some observing him with some play tasks. More than one professional (eg psychologist, child psychiatrist) is usually involved in the diagnosis to make it more reliable, whether confirming he's autistic or that he's not.

Children
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