Autism Screening and Diagnosis

Infants will develop at their own pace and many do not follow the same timelines that are laid out in some parenting books. Children with autism will normally display signs of delayed developments by time they are 18 months old. Parents are normally the first to notice unusual behavior and development problems in their child. Because delaying treatment in autism cases may affect the long-term outcome of the treatment, any of the following signs should give you reason to have a child evaluated by an autism specialists without delay:

Does not babble by 12 months
No gesturing, like pointing, waving etc... by 12 months
Does not say single words by 16 months
Does not say two-word phrases by 24 months
Any loss of language or social skills at any age

A child's doctor should check for signs of delays in development during regular checkups. If the child is showing some signs of autism a specialist in treating children with autism should be referred. A specialist, normally working within a team, can perform formal evaluations for the autism disorder.

Making a diagnosis of autism can be difficult because autism will differ widely in severity and symptoms. There currently are not any medical tests able to diagnose the disorder. The diagnosis of autism is made through a formal evaluation that consists of: observing a child, talking to a parent about how their child's social skills, language skills, and behavioral skills have developed and changed over time.

Autism is defined as exhibiting at least six symptoms total, including at least two symptoms of qualitative impairment in social interaction, at least one symptom of qualitative impairment in communication, and at least one symptom of restricted and repetitive behavior.

The recent increase in the reported cases of autism is likely due to changes in diagnostic practices. With the increasing popularity of drug treatment options for autism and the expansion of benefits has given health care providers more incentives to diagnose autism and has lead to the over diagnosis of children with uncertain symptoms.