Autside Autism Diagnosis Process
We are now happy to announce that we are offering private diagnostic assessments.
What happens during an Autism diagnosis?
Diagnosing Autism or other Autism Spectrum Disorders, can be difficult because there is no medical test, like a blood test, to diagnose the disorder. We will look at the child’s developmental history and behavior to make a diagnosis.
The diagnosis will consist of three main steps- ADI-R, ADOS-2 and the report and overview.
Step 1- Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised (ADI-R)
The ADI-R provides a thorough assessment of individuals suspected of having autism or other autism spectrum disorders.
To administer the ADI-R, the interviewer questions a parent or carer who is familiar with the developmental history and current behaviour of the individual being evaluated.
The ADI-R focuses on three functional domains:
- Language/ communication
- Social interactions
- Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviours and interests
The interview questions cover eight content areas:
- The child's bacground, including family, education, previous diagnoses and medications
- Overview of the child's behaviour
- Early development and developmental milestones
- Language acqusitions and loss of language or other skills
- Current functioning in regard to language and communication
- Social development and play
- Interests and behaviours
- Clinically relevant behaviours such as aggression, self-injury and possible epileptic features.
Step 2- Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2)
ADOS-2 provides a highly accurate picture of current symptoms, unaffected by language. It can be used to evaluate almost anyone suspected of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from one year olds with no speech, to adults who are verbally fluent.
It is a standardised assessment of communication, social interaction, play and restricted and repetitive behaviours. It presents various activities that elicit behaviours directly related to a diagnosis of ASD. By observing these behaviours, you can obtain information that informs diagnosis, treatment planning and educational placement.
Step 3- Report and Overview
During this step, a full report is written on all observations made during the process as well as an overview of everything that happened over the past two steps.
Contact Us
If you are looking for more information or want to start the diagnostic process (initial assessment), please fill in the section below and we can get back to you asap.
