Prevent your child’s meltdowns and tantrums, and other difficult behaviors by setting up a plan for success! Try out our new free Android app: Let’s Go! which allows parents to quickly establish a fun and easy to use behavior management plan for a child when going out to common activities. This first Let’s Go! app [...]
I actually think it is trickier to get a good diagnosis for an adult than for a child. So many adults are uncovering that their differences might be well described by an autism spectrum diagnosis but my experience has been that fewer providers in adult mental health are familiar with the autism spectrum than in [...]
Tonight I just have a short post about warning signs of autism spectrum disorders in very young children. I usually don’t see children in my practice under 3 or 4, so these are just things I have read about or seen in my own family, rather than observed as a professional. So if you are [...]
There are many ways that evaluation and testing can take place to get a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Let me first say, that whenever the possibility begins to get raised of the autism spectrum, I suggest from then on only seeing professionals who have substantial experience in this area. Over the past few [...]
I thought I would take a diversion from my writings about diagnosis and talk about summertime! This really came to me today when I was thinking about the ASD kids that I see in therapy and how they divide into two camps (no pun intended) when we look at how they do over the summer. [...]
Sensory Differences Sensory integration problems are associated with the autism spectrum, but are not part of the current diagnostic criteria (however, the proposed changes in the diagnostic criteria discussed last post do include them. These problems include being over or under sensitive to sound, touch (including pain and texture), visual stimulation (including light), taste, or [...]
Autistic Disorder or Autism For someone to be diagnosed with “Autism” or “Autistic Disorder” using the current diagnostic manual (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV, published by the American Psychiatric Association), the person needs to meet two of the criteria mentioned in post on social differences, at least one of the differences [...]
Repetitive or unusual interests or behaviors The third area of difference for those on the autism spectrum is repetitive or unusual behaviors and interests. One way this may be seen is with obsessive interests that are unusual either in their intensity or in their focus. You might often see someone on the spectrum who has [...]
Language Delay or Lack of Spoken Language The second area of differences for those on the spectrum is that of communication and imagination. For some, there is a serious delay or total lack of development of spoken language, not compensated for with other efforts to communicate. Some children do not develop speech while others begin [...]