Reply to Steps for getting evaluated for 4 year old for potential autism

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Just FYI - Children's is no longer evaluating children for autism who are older than 4 (48 months).[/quote]

That’s great news! I hope all providers start following that guideline. [/quote]

Jfc why?[/quote]

Diagnosing prior to age 4 ensures high diagnostic accuracy, as core ASD symptoms like social-communication deficits and repetitive behaviors are more distinguishable from other conditions (e.g., ADHD, language disorders) in young children. There is much historical support for this, as emphasized in DSM-III (onset before 30 months) and DSM-IV (onset before 36 months for Autistic Disorder).

Early diagnosis enables access to critical interventions, such as applied behavior analysis or speech therapy, during the neuroplastic window before age 5, which research (e.g., studies from the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2019) shows significantly improves language, social skills, and adaptive functioning, reducing long-term support needs.

This approach also leverages clear developmental histories (e.g., parent reports, pediatric records), ensuring diagnoses are grounded in observable early impairments, minimizing ambiguity and potential for overdiagnosis.

Limiting diagnoses to before age 4 maintains a focused diagnostic category, streamlining access to early intervention services like those funded under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which target children under 3.

By focusing on early childhood, professionals reduce reliance on subjective retrospective reports in older individuals, where masking or compensatory strategies can obscure symptoms, and ensure resources are allocated efficiently to those with clear early needs, maximizing developmental outcomes and long-term independence.

[/quote]

Thanks chatGPT. [/quote]

+1 Much of the text above is not relevant to the question of whether ZERO providers should evaluate children over 48 months for autism. I can understand a provider with long wait lists that takes insurance choosing to focus on early childhood. But to make it impossible for any child over age 3 to get a diagnosis is preposterous and deeply harmful. And for those of you without actual experience with this who think it's funny to AI bomb this thread with irrelevant sewage, many of us have documentation from early childhood showing symptoms of autism that were dismissed by providers without the relevant expertise. [/quote]

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