Diagnosis

[claire33]

Hi all

 

Just wanted to ask if this is the assesment i need to get a diagnosis?

 

Took k to see his specialist last week and she due to the griffiths assesment carried out last year on k which showed delay across all areas of his functioning (plus all other assesments ). She felt that it would be helpful to carry out a full cognitive assesment.

 

Is this the assesment depending on the outcome where i may get a diagnosis?

 

If its not which one is it he needs?

Edited November 20, 2006 by claire33

[cmuir]

I guess every specialist is different. My son is nearly 5 and I was very lucky to get a diagnosis for him back in May. The average age of a child getting a diagnosis is something like 7 or 8. It was very hard and I had to push and push for it. My son was seen on several occasions by a Paed, SALT, OT, etc. I kept a diary over 8 months detailing behaviours, etc. I think we got a diagnosis due to having kept a diary, reports of various assessment, and then finally it was having an ADOS assessment that confirmed things.

 

Best of luck in your quest. Hope that you get a diagnosis soon.

 

Caroline.

[claire33]

Hi

 

ADOS assesment?????

[LizK]

Probably not on it's own but it may well contribute towards helping the specialist make a final diagnosis.

 

There isn't really a 'test' as such for ASD the diagnosis should be given based upon the child's previous developmental history, current situation and observation of the child sometimes in different settings. Reports from other professionals like SALT and OT may be requested too. If there is some doubt diagnostic tools like DISCO, ADOS and 3DI are very useful for helping clarify the diagnosis but these shouldn't be used in isolation as no diagnositic test is 100% perfect. A cognitive assessment might include looking at some of the autism specific scales or it might be a more general assessment looking at verbal and non verbal IQ, processing, sequencing abilities etc. An autistic child might have an uneven profile and the assessment can be useful to identify areas of strengths and weakness. My son will probably have one in a few years but he's too young at the moment

 

Lx

[cmuir]

Hi

 

ADOS is autistic disorder observation 2 - ?. Basically my son's assessment was carried out by a SALT, specialist Paed, Psychologist. It was videotaped. Robert was asked questions eg what makes him sad/happy, was asked to look at storybook and say what was happening, played with fire engine and dolls in order to see if he could use his imagination to make up a scenario. Basically, this looks at every aspect eg eye contact, interaction with others, imagination, etc.

 

C.

[Stephanie]

Also be aware that he may not get diagnosed straight away, they may try other things like Speech and Language Therapy before they go on to make an official diagnosis. Ours took 6 months from the initial assessment.

[Tally]

It depends on the result of the assessment really. The results might clearly indicate autism, or you may need additional testing/observation to confirm it.

[aro]

Claire, my dd is due to have the Ruth Griffith test next month, can you tell me what it involved with K as I can find it's content on google etc.

 

Thanks,

A x

[JenRose]

M had the ADOS test earlier this year but scored highly and the psychiatrist said no to AS based on the ADOS alone

 

We disputed this and she offered us Prozac for him.

 

The specialist that eventually dx,d him says that there is a lot of confusion and doubt over the ADOS and that a dx should not be given on that alone.

 

I wish i had thought of keeping a diary as that could have helped.

[claire33]

Claire, my dd is due to have the Ruth Griffith test next month, can you tell me what it involved with K as I can find it's content on google etc.

 

Thanks,

A x

 

Hi aro

 

When k had his assesment it involved the educational psychologist, myself and k in a room and he was asked to perform different tasks namely:

 

Stand on one leg

Skip round the room

Catch a ball

Draw different shapes or copy them

 

 

She also built some blocks up and asked him to use the ones that were left to copy what she had done.

He was also observed in the classroom for e few hours.

Its basically an assesment of there abilitys, eg fine/large motor skills, level of maturity, there understanding of speech and language, how they interacts with others.

From what i understand its basically to outline what particular areas they need specific help in.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Claire

[aro]

Thanks Claire,

hmmm my dd can't walk independently or catch/throw balls, guess she's not going to score well then (but this is due to cerebral palsy)

 

our appt form said to allow an hour for the appt and ours is with paed.

Should be interesting ! 18 days to go

 

A x

[claire33]

Thanks Claire,

hmmm my dd can't walk independently or catch/throw balls, guess she's not going to score well then (but this is due to cerebral palsy)

 

our appt form said to allow an hour for the appt and ours is with paed.

Should be interesting ! 18 days to go

 

A x

 

Hi aro

 

Maybe they alter the test to suit, but like i say i think its just to measre there abilitys, and understanding and to highlight any areas of concern that either yourself or they may have, and then go away with the findings and work out how do deal with them best.