Mental health articles

diagnosing autism in children There is no test that is used to diagnose a child with autistic disorder. The initial
physiologic and developmental disorders are ruled out by conducting a:
• Neurologic examination
• Hearing examination
• Vision examination
• Developmental examination
Once physiologic and developmental disorders are ruled out, the child is
assessed using the following screening tests:
• Autism Screening Questionnaire: This questionnaire consists of 40 questions
and is used to assess the child’s social and communications skills. The
child must be at least 4 years old to be assessed using this questionnaire.
• Checklist for Autism in Toddlers: This is a two-part questionnaire, half
completed by the child’s parents and the other half by the child’s practitioner,
and is used to assess the child at age 18 months.
• Childhood Autism Rating Scale: An observer monitors how well the child
interacts with people, speaks, listens, and can manage change.
• Screening Test for Autism in 2-Year Olds: An observer monitors a 2-yearold
child’s attention and motor and play skills.
The child must demonstrate six characteristics from three of the following
categories and at least two from the social interaction category and one from
the communication or patterns category.
• Before age 3, delays in
• Imaginative play
• Communication
• Interacting with family • Social interaction
• Impairment in nonverbal behaviors such as expression and postures
• Lack of reciprocal emotions
• Unable to develop friendship with peers
• Communication
• Spontaneous make-believe behavior
• Delay in language development
• Unable to initiate or sustain a conversation
• Patterns
• Unable to deviate from routines
• Repetitive motion
• Preoccupation with object

Tags: autism, children