D.I.S.C.O.

[jayjay]

Hi wonder if anyone can help me we have been under the child development centre for a year and a half now trying to find out the problems our son has. The school firmly believe he has aspergers or is on the autistic spectrum and my paed has been useless to the point that 3 months ago i put a complaint in saying i had no faith in her judgement , today went back for appointment again and she has asked loads of questions and decided that a D.I.S.C.O. assessment is needed to ascertain if our son is on the spectrum

1st question is what is D.I.S.C.O.

2nd question she said today that he has autistic traits but that most kids have that but it doesnt mean they r on the autistic spectrum and by doing this check she can see if he will score enough to be on the spectrum also he doesnt have to be there which i thought was a bit odd cos how can she test him if he isnt there. Sorry to be so long winded

[anxiousmom]

disco stands for Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders and is one of the latest tests recognised to assess if someone is on the spectrum... and where (so I believe and I'm sure I'll be corrected if wrong). I was told to ask for this (there are some others too) when trying to find someone to assess my son.

 

As for possessing the traits but being or not being on the spectrum... these are the questions I'll be asking on my sons assessment next week. I keep going over how he ticks all the boxes for aspergers... but he might not have it and so what makes that difference? At what point does his character become a syndrome?

[LizK]

DISCO is fairly comprehensive assessment test done on children to assess whether they are on the autistic spectrum. It is a questionaire type assessment tool based on the parent's answers and experiences with their child so that's why your son doesn't need to be there. Also I think the test can be quite long so no doubt he may end up getting bored whilst you complete it. Hopefully it should give you a better idea of your son's situation. It's not hte be-all-and-end-all though and needs to be taken in the context of assessments of your son too

 

The issue of autistic traits vs ASD is one of interest to me. My H has definite autistic traits which were much stronger as a child but which have diminished over the years for whatever reason. DS may not technically ever get a diagnosis of ASD as he doesn't fulfill all the tickboxes but his problems are ASD-related in nature so is managed like a child with ASD which is all that really matters. Yes many NT children have the odd autistic qualities here and there but I think it's the combination of these traits in a child rather than just one or two that make ASD more likely. Also NT children are rarely impaired by any autistic traits they might have whereas a child with ASD or ASD-like difficulties will more likely have difficulties as a result

 

HTH

 

Liz

[phasmid]

Disco is not 'child friendly' as for the most part it involves parental interviews about the childs development. The child does take part and IS interviewed too. The parental part is very, very intense and the child is not, in all honesty, required for this part of the process. Once the initial assessment has been carried out they decide whether or not to proceed further. If they do it will involve the child and (if applicable) their school.

 

Mentally it is an exhausting procedure. From start to finish it lasted 4 months for us. But we did get the DX from it. A very clear one too.

 

Hope that helps.

[mossgrove]

H (5, ASD) was diagnosed after a DISCO asessment. As Phasmid said, the parental part is very intense and takes a few hours in total. We did get a diagnosis at the end of it, and this diagnosis has allowed us get the right help.

 

I belive that a DISCO assessment is mandatory in our area before an ASD diagnosis can be given.

 

Simon

[jayjay]

thanx for those replies i didnt think to ask paed at time so many things going on in my head can understand bout son not being there aswell now no where would he sit through a long assessment just manage to sit through half hour bless him

[alibaly]

MY son was diagnosed using DISCO by Lorna Wing and Judith Gould, I think they are the ones who created it. For us it was a very easy procedure, I sat at the table with Lorna Wing and answered yes or no to what seemed like a list of questions the length of a roll of wall paper. While this was going on my son, he was non verbal at the time, was with Judith Gould doing a play like assesment. The whole thing from start to finish took 3 hours. Once my son was finsished with Judith Gould they both went into their office and within 10 miutes I had the diagnosis, the report that followed a few weeks later absolutley shocked me with its accuracy.

 

hth

[mom on a mission]

yes my son was diagnosed three years ago when he was two years old using DISCO , we spent about three hours answering questions asked by a pediatrition and a speach and language therepist it was tyring and alot of the questions at the time seemed irralavant (although i now understand why they were asked) after the questions we went home and waited for an appointment to go back which took about four weeks during that time the DISCO assment team received a report from my sons pediatriton (who had alredy told us our son was on the spectrum)a report and video everdence from a clinicle pyschologist and a report from the nursery, when we went back we were given the diagnosis of AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISSORDER so still dont know where he is on the spectrum but does it really matter iam not sure ! DISCO seems to be a very informative and accurate assesment procedure ,so chin up and keep smiling your on your way to getting answers. <'>

[jayjay]

thanx everyone for all the info it has been really reassuring fingers crossed for us and i will let u know what they said after appointment