How is autism diagnosed? ASD varies widely in severity and symptoms and may go unrecognized, especially in mildly affected children or when it is masked by more debilitating handicaps. Very early indicators that require evaluation by an expert include: no babbling or pointing by age 1 no single words by 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2 no response to name loss of language or social skills poor eye contact excessive lining up of toys or objects no smiling or social responsiveness. Later indicators include: impaired ability to make friends with peers impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others absence or impairment of imaginative and social play stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus preoccupation with certain objects or subjects inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals. Health care providers will often use a questionnaire or other screening instrument to gather information about a child’s development and behavior. Some screening instruments rely solely on parent observations, while others rely on a combination of parent and doctor observations. If screening instruments indicate the possibility of an ASD, a more comprehensive evaluation is usually indicated. A comprehensive evaluation requires a multidisciplinary team, including a psychologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, speech therapist, and other professionals who diagnose children with ASDs. The team members will conduct a thorough neurological assessment and in-depth cognitive and language testing. Because hearing problems can cause behaviors that could be mistaken for an ASD, children with delayed speech development should also have their hearing tested. Children with some symptoms of an ASD but not enough to be diagnosed with classical autism are often diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Children with autistic behaviors but well-developed language skills are often diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. Much rarer are children who may be diagnosed with childhood disintegrative disorder, in which they develop normally and then suddenly deteriorate between the ages of 3 to 10 years and show marked autistic behaviors. -summertime-
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 20:52:20 +0000