Services for Autism Spectrum Disorders
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), an average of 1 in every 110 children in the United States has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Despite the fact that children can be reliably diagnosed with ASD as early as 2 years of age, the average age at which children are diagnosed with an ASD is 4 ½ years. These children will have missed out on years of critical early intervention services, known to improve outcomes for children with ASD.
The sooner you have a diagnosis, the sooner you can get the help your child needs.
If your toddler shows any of the following signs, we recommend you contact us to schedule an evaluation:
- By 6 months: A lack of eye contact (e.g., does not gaze at parent when feeding); a lack of broad smiles or other joyful expressions
- By 9 months: No “conversational” back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions
- By 12 months: A lack of response to name (e.g., doesn’t turn or look up when name is called); No babbling or baby talk; No communicative gestures (e.g., pointing, showing, reaching, or waving)
- By 16 months: No single words
- By 24 months: No two-word meaningful phrases (not simply imitating or repeating what the child heard), e.g., more milk, Mommy up, want book
- Any regression or loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
At Equilibria a psychologist specializing in autistic spectrum disorders will assess your child for ASD using an appropriate combination of the following:
- The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) to gather
- The child’s history, including family, education, previous diagnoses, and medications
- Overview of the child’s behavior
- Early development and developmental milestones
- Language acquisition and loss of language or other skills
- Current functioning in regard to language and communication
- Social development and play
- Interests and behaviors
- Clinically relevant behaviors, such as aggression, self-injury, and possible epileptic features
- The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), a play-based, interactive assessment tool, which consists of semi-structured activities that allow the psychologist to observe social and communication behaviors related to the diagnosis of ASD.
- A test of cognitive ability (intelligence testing) to determine your child’s level of cognitive functioning (this can be done with both verbal and non-verbal children)
- An assessment of developmentally appropriate behaviors, maladaptive behaviors and adaptive functioning
- (For school-age children) an instrument assessing current academic levels
- (For school-age children) an observation in a classroom environment
- Incorporation of reports/data from relevant team members
Our practice values a multidisciplinary approach towards diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders. Depending on your child’s presentation, the psychologist will facilitate the development of a treatment team of outside specialists, which may include one or more of the following: a neurodevelopmental pediatrician, a pediatric neurologist, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist and other educational professionals.
Following assessment, the psychologist will meet with family members to share the report and convey the results in plain language. The report will contain detailed recommendations and resources, ensuring your family
- Understands the diagnosis and the degree of severity of the disorder;
- Has concrete recommendations for how to address the individual needs of your child; and,
- Has a plan for engaging the behavioral, academic, speech and language and medical resources in your area.
After the feedback session, the family may opt to seek treatment at Equilibria Kids. Treatment options include:
- Private parent training to manage behaviors, foster independence, promote skill and language development at home
- Social skills groups for children
- Parenting groups that connect you with other parents of children with ASD with whom you will explore issues relevant to raising children with ASD.
Please note that some diagnostic and treatment services by psychologists are reimbursable by state law. Please visit www.autisminpa.org to find out more information.