Neuropshych evaluator who does not allows jump to ASD

[Anonymous]

General pediatricians simply don't have the experience or knowledge to diagnose developmental disorders. Mine did not think my DS had an ASD and many years later its very clear that he does.

OP, you are thinking through this is a way that can take you off track. He only did this because of X. And he didn't do that because of Y. A good clinician will recognize X and Y. You need to find someone you trust and then get out of the way. Absolutely get another opinion, especially since PDD-NOS doesn't exist anymore. But I agree with the others that you will do your DS a real disservice if you go into this looking for a clinician with a bias in favor of a result you are seeking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is a ped not qualified to diagnose?

I don't know about your general pediatrician, but mine spends about 5 minutes with my kids, maybe slightly longer for well visits. Teasing out what was/was not ASD and what other diagnoses were appropriate, involved a 2 hour clinical interview with parents, 8-10 hours of testing, and additional time spent analyzing the results of the tests and the forms that I and the teachers completed. There is no way a regular pediatrician's office is set up to do that.

In addition, they are not trained in the various ways that ASD and other developmental issues can manifest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful of what you're doing - you're seeking a diagnosis but you're deciding in advance what diagnosis you'll accept.

+1. So who diagnosed the PDD-NOS?

A pediatrician and Mary Camarata, who is a speech pathologist, are not qualified to diagnose or rule out ASDs.

Mary actually can diagnose autism. She has the specialized training that it requires. She's way beyond a garden variety SLP. She can give the ADOS, CARS and all the other autism diagnostic tests.

[Anonymous]

I'm not familiar with Camarata but I wouldn't trust an SLP with a diagnosis, even with "specialized training." Its not about knowing how to administer tests (which it doesn't sound was done in OP's DS' case anyway). Its about having expertise in the whole waterfront of developmental issues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not familiar with Camarata but I wouldn't trust an SLP with a diagnosis, even with "specialized training." Its not about knowing how to administer tests (which it doesn't sound was done in OP's DS' case anyway). Its about having expertise in the whole waterfront of developmental issues

Which she does. She actually is trained to do a differential diagnosis, in fact. I know dozens of families who've had their children evaluated either by Mary or her husband, Stephen Camarata of Vanderbilt, or both. Their knowledge and feedback swamps almost any other diagnosing team I've heard of. I had my son evaluated for autism three times, including once with the Camaratas. All the testing results were the same -- but the Camaratas were the only ones to tell me exactly where my son was at, when he was likely to catch up, and the roadmap on how to move forward. The others had just said, "We don't know what's going on; he just doesn't talk."


Mary was a clinical researcher into language issues and former assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Medical School and held clinical and research positions at University of California Santa Barbara, worked as a clinical supervisor at Pennsylvania State University, and was employed by The ARC for early home and center-based services. Much of her time has been spent working with autistic children, children with language disorders like MERLD, children with Down's etc. Remember that often those diagnosing children with autism are not MDs but a psychologists. Or neurologists or developmental pediatricians who spend 20 minutes to an hour with a child. Even in group settings at children's hospitals, it's typically the SLPs running the ADOS and other autism tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not familiar with Camarata but I wouldn't trust an SLP with a diagnosis, even with "specialized training." Its not about knowing how to administer tests (which it doesn't sound was done in OP's DS' case anyway). Its about having expertise in the whole waterfront of developmental issues

Which she does. She actually is trained to do a differential diagnosis, in fact. I know dozens of families who've had their children evaluated either by Mary or her husband, Stephen Camarata of Vanderbilt, or both. Their knowledge and feedback swamps almost any other diagnosing team I've heard of. I had my son evaluated for autism three times, including once with the Camaratas. All the testing results were the same -- but the Camaratas were the only ones to tell me exactly where my son was at, when he was likely to catch up, and the roadmap on how to move forward. The others had just said, "We don't know what's going on; he just doesn't talk."


Mary was a clinical researcher into language issues and former assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Medical School and held clinical and research positions at University of California Santa Barbara, worked as a clinical supervisor at Pennsylvania State University, and was employed by The ARC for early home and center-based services. Much of her time has been spent working with autistic children, children with language disorders like MERLD, children with Down's etc. Remember that often those diagnosing children with autism are not MDs but a psychologists. Or neurologists or developmental pediatricians who spend 20 minutes to an hour with a child. Even in group settings at children's hospitals, it's typically the SLPs running the ADOS and other autism tests.

How do I get in touch with other MERLD parents? Is there a specific forum/support group?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not familiar with Camarata but I wouldn't trust an SLP with a diagnosis, even with "specialized training." Its not about knowing how to administer tests (which it doesn't sound was done in OP's DS' case anyway). Its about having expertise in the whole waterfront of developmental issues

Which she does. She actually is trained to do a differential diagnosis, in fact. I know dozens of families who've had their children evaluated either by Mary or her husband, Stephen Camarata of Vanderbilt, or both. Their knowledge and feedback swamps almost any other diagnosing team I've heard of. I had my son evaluated for autism three times, including once with the Camaratas. All the testing results were the same -- but the Camaratas were the only ones to tell me exactly where my son was at, when he was likely to catch up, and the roadmap on how to move forward. The others had just said, "We don't know what's going on; he just doesn't talk."


Mary was a clinical researcher into language issues and former assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Medical School and held clinical and research positions at University of California Santa Barbara, worked as a clinical supervisor at Pennsylvania State University, and was employed by The ARC for early home and center-based services. Much of her time has been spent working with autistic children, children with language disorders like MERLD, children with Down's etc. Remember that often those diagnosing children with autism are not MDs but a psychologists. Or neurologists or developmental pediatricians who spend 20 minutes to an hour with a child. Even in group settings at children's hospitals, it's typically the SLPs running the ADOS and other autism tests.

How do I get in touch with other MERLD parents? Is there a specific forum/support group?

There are a few on facebook. The parents are wonderful and supportive. Please come join us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Be careful of what you're doing - you're seeking a diagnosis but you're deciding in advance what diagnosis you'll accept.

+1. So who diagnosed the PDD-NOS?

A pediatrician and Mary Camarata, who is a speech pathologist, are not qualified to diagnose or rule out ASDs.

Mary actually can diagnose autism. She has the specialized training that it requires. She's way beyond a garden variety SLP. She can give the ADOS, CARS and all the other autism diagnostic tests.

So did Mary rule out autism after she administered these tests? So tell the neuropsych that ASD has been ruled out.

Don't see that OP has a problem. It's not a "given" in a neuropsych eval that they are going to diagnosis an issue (especially a BIG one like ASD) that does not exist.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Carole Samango-Sprouse in Crofton was very helpful in sorting out the pieces of my child's complex mix of disabilities. We saw the Camaratas as well, and while they were great, Dr. Samango-Sprouse gave us even more insight.

[Anonymous]

Kennedy Krieger at Hopkins is VERY conservative with the ASD diagnosis. Very.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dr. Carole Samango-Sprouse in Crofton was very helpful in sorting out the pieces of my child's complex mix of disabilities. We saw the Camaratas as well, and while they were great, Dr. Samango-Sprouse gave us even more insight.

The camaratas are better for just language issues and to help tease out autism vs. language delay. They have a specific focus. It can help with all. They also more do Evans and General recommendations since they cannot refer for specific services not living in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a good experience at MindWell- very patient and kind.

Mindwell in Bethesda was a waste of money for us.

NP. How so? We are considering them for DC. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Traditionally it has been accepted that an SLP can not diagnose or rule out Autism. This has changed and now they can as long as they meet certain criteria as far as training is concerned. They don't actually need extra certification though, just specialized training and vast experience with Autism.

[Anonymous]

pp here and the above is from ASHA not my personal opinion.

[Anonymous]

Umm I wouldn't really trust a pediatrician to diagnosis that. Stop trying to shape the diagnosis as you see fit, it may be ASD.