How do they diagnose an autism spectrum disorder

[Anonymous]

23:20 I vehemently disagree. ASDs are real, Aspergers is real and while there may be children who are borderline and difficult to diagnose, especially at a young age, that doesn't mean these disorders don't exist. I got so frustrated for so many years with this line that "labels don't matter." We would never say that about any other medical category and I find it patronizing. When my developmental pediatrician tried it with me I told him point blank: if you have a word for what my son has, please use it. We need the correct terms for things.

This is why a correct diagnosis matters: First of all, it helps you organize what your child needs. While all kids with ASDs have differences, there are often commonalities and knowing how to address the key deficits is critical -- not to mention that most insurance won't reimburse therapies without a diagnosis.

Second, and this is what makes me feel so strongly, we MUST get rid of this sense of shame around ASDs. Acting like it is the third rail only perpetuates the shame. My son knows what he has, he has the correct name for it, and to him its no big deal, just another aspect of who he is. I know some adults who never got the diagnosis, the "label" and I can tell you they have really struggled with knowing there is something different but not knowing what it is.

The diagnosis of an ASD in my son didn't "tell me nothing." it told me what I needed to do to help him and gave us a name for an important aspect of his development.

[Anonymous]

I think there is some middle ground between the last 2 PPs. While we need to recognize and treat ASD, we have to be careful not to pathologize every personality quirk. Since we do not know OP's son, we can not say where he "falls" along the "spectrum." I find the term "spectrum" a misnomer, however, because it implies that ASD is linear, that a child is somewhere between mild and severe, when it is more likely the case that different children possess different constellations of characteristics that are consistent with a diagnosis of Autism (yes, some more severe than others).

To answer OPs question of how ASD is diagnosed: I am a school psychologist. From reviewing private evaluations that come to my attention, I am sometimes confused as to what clinicians use to diagnose ASD. I think they observe the child and consult the DSM-IV criteria http://www.autreat.com/dsm4-autism.html. A school-based evaluation would have parents and teachers fill out standardized rating scales and complete observations and parent and teacher interviews to get a full picture and compare the child to a national sample of same age peers. But before that, the school team would explore why your child does not prefer to talk to peers (shyness/anxiety? lack of social skills? genuine preference?) and put in place some interventions to facilitate his interaction with peers. OP, Is your DS in a public school?

My 2 cents: You are getting different input from different professionals because they are all, at the end of the day, opinions. There are limitations to how we can measure the mind.

[Anonymous]

10:54 Thank you for this statement: "We MUST get rid of this sense of shame around ASDs." The numbers are growing. Woo many people assume it's some curse that should be pitied. I realize that some people with kids on the spectrum face many more challenges than we do. However, I am sick of this assumptions people make when they hear ASD. My child read at an early age and has always been advanced with puzzles and early math skills. Yeah, he can be rigid, but that has improved. Social skills are delayed, but he is connecting in his own way. I see so many posts where as soon as somebody mentions their kid is autistic people assume the kid is severely impaired. There are preschools and private SN elementary schools who based on that label won't even meet the child. Sorry to hijack this thread...