-
Often, parents and professionals call to learn about autism and how it is
diagnosed. We hope the following, brief summary will be helpful:
Diagnosing Autism
In order to determine whether a child meets criteria for
a diagnosis of autism, a psychologist, working individually
or as part of a team, collects information about the
child’s early development and current skills.
The emphasis is on collecting information about the
child’s communication skills, social interactions and
play.
·
Information is
collected from multiple sources, with the primary source of
information being the child’s parents.
·
If the child is
participating in early intervention services, the providers
(e.g., speech-language therapist, occupational therapist,
preschool teacher) working with the child are also asked to
describe the child’s skills.
·
Standardized
testing instruments are used to obtain information about the
child’s cognitive development (e.g., Mullen Scales of
Early Learning, Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth
Edition, Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised) and
adaptive functioning (e.g., Vineland Adaptive Behavior
Scales).
·
A structured
interview (Autism Diagnostic Interview, by Catherine Lord at
the University of Chicago), structured play interaction
scale (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic, by
Catherine Lord at the University of Chicago), or a behavior
checklist (e.g., CARS, TEACCH program at Chapel Hill in
North Carolina) may be used to obtain specific information
about deficits in the areas of socialization, communication,
and play and interests.
·
Observations of
the child across contexts may provide information about the
child’s interests and his/her ability to interact with
others.
After collecting information
from multiple sources, the psychologist determines whether
the child meets all of the criteria for a diagnosis of
autistic disorder. The
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) provides guidelines that
psychologists use to determine whether people have
psychiatric disorders.
The DSM-IV lists criteria which an individual must
exhibit in order to qualify for a particular disorder (e.g.,
mental retardation, autistic disorder, learning
disabilities). The
criteria for autistic disorder fall into three general
areas: socialization, communication, and interests and
activities.
-
-
