Autism Testing with Stephanie East

What is Autism?

Autism is a developmental disorder with symptoms that appear within the first three years of life. Its formal diagnostic name is autism spectrum disorder. The word “spectrum” indicates that autism appears in different forms with varying levels of severity. That means that each individual with autism experiences their own unique strengths, symptoms, and challenges. 

Risk Factors

There is a higher likelihood of an autism diagnosis associated with:

  • Certain medications taken during pregnancy, including valproic acid and thalidomide.

  • Having a sibling with autism.

  • Having parents that are older.

Factors that have not been linked to a higher risk of autism:

  • Vaccines.

  • Race.

  • Ethnicity.

  • Socioeconomic status.

Male children tend to be diagnosed with autism more often than those assigned female sex at birth.

In the US, the autism prevalence rate is estimated to be 1 in 31 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This translates to about 2.3% of all American children being autistic. 

This rate has steadily increased since 2000, when the prevalence was estimated to be 1 in 150 children.

The increase in prevalence is due in part to an increase in autism awareness, along with better screening and broader diagnostic criteria, which have helped more children—especially those in historically underserved communities—get diagnosed earlier.

You can read more about autism at the Autism Self Advocacy Network website.

Diagnosing Autism

There are no medical tests, such as blood work or brain scans, for diagnosing Autism.  While there is not a single behavioral or communication test that can detect Autism, several Autism-specific tools are now being used for formal diagnosis. These include the:

  • Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS™-2)

  • Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI)

  • Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum (MIGDAS)

  • Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the

  • Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). 

I will use one or more of the above methods as part of my diagnostic evaluation. But regardless of which tools I choose, they are only part of a larger assessment, as the determination of Autism is best completed with multiple sources of information. 

Medical vs. Educational Evaluations

An evaluation by a medical professional is necessary for a diagnosis of autism and that is the kind of evaluation I provide. There is a separate educational evaluation for children who are seeking services through a public school system.

The educational evaluation primarily assesses how the child can learn and participate in the school environment. Its purpose is to determine eligibility for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and establish an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or 504 educational plans.

Unlike a medical diagnosis, an educational evaluation does not necessarily confirm the presence of ASD, but rather assesses eligibility for special educational support.