With the support of a speech therapist, our daughter has a developmental assessment next week due to concerns that she may have autism. We would like some advice about what to expect at the assessment?
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
Who decides if my child has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
Who are the professionals involved?
- Paediatrician
- Speech and language therapist
- Clinical and / or educational psychologist
- Paediatric neurologist
- Child and adolescent psychiatrist
- Occupational therapist
What are the main features of an autism diagnostic assessment?
The possible outcomes of assessment
- If there is uncertainty after the autism diagnostic assessment about the diagnosis, your child will be kept under review, taking into account any new information.
- Some children and young people will have features of behavior that are seen in the autism spectrum but do not reach diagnostic criteria for definitive diagnosis. Based on their profile, the child will be referred to the appropriate services for support e.g. speech therapy.
- If the outcome of the autism diagnostic assessment clearly indicates that the child or young person does not have autism, again based on their profile and needs they will be referred to the appropriate services for support e.g. physiotherapy.
How Integrated Treatment Services can help
If your child has recently been diagnosed with autism, it can be a very uncertain time. Many parents are given a diagnosis without any guidance on what to do next. Here at Integrated Treatment Services (I.T.S) we have a large team of multi- disciplinary professionals including speech therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists.
Our team can not only support you in getting an appropriate diagnosis for your child but also provide on-going therapy and support for the stages after diagnosis. A therapist at Integrated Treatment Services (I.T.S) is available throughout the week to discuss the ASD assessment process further, answering any questions you may have.
We are happy to speak with you over the telephone on: 0845 838 2921 or by email info@integratedtreatments.co.uk. If you have found this article helpful and have more questions then you can contact us with ideas for topics you would like us to cover in future blogs by simply clicking ‘Ask us a Question’.
Alexandra Tolley
