Getting a Good Autism Evaluation

Okay, I try not to use this blog to vent my frustration or opinion. But this is my exception and I hope you will understand. The problem is with autism evaluations. I pride myself on doing thorough evaluations. However, way too often parents bring in reports that are based only on a rating scale. You see rating scales are very subjective and are not designed to be used as an entire evaluation, Other times, I see reports where the physician spent a very brief time with the child in the office. A young child is often not going to show their best skills when they are in a place they have never been with strangers looking at them. A thorough evaluation that will lead to a correct diagnosis will involve observations in real life settings, as well as many other assessment tools. This is simply meant to be informative to parents. How is Autism diagnosed? This article will show what a quality evaluation should include.