Autism Diagnostics
Are you suspecting Autism? Let’s Talk can help.
If after collecting information, you are suspecting your child has Autism, it can be a scary time. There’s often a desire to “know for sure” mixed with a feeling of not wanting to know. Sometimes parents hear input from other’s in their child’s life and feel an urge to collect evidence to “prove them wrong”. Other’s just want to know for sure and move forward to figure out what to do next.
The important thing to remember is that Autism is just a collection of behaviors that when observed together result in a constellation called “Autism Spectrum Disorder”. The diagnosis alone does not tell us anything more about a specific child other than that he/she has enough of these behaviors to have the diagnosis given. It does NOT tell us information about what that child’s life will be like, what they can learn or even specific information on what type of teaching they need. The child themselves, with careful watching, probing and data collection on the part of those working with him/her, tells us how the child learns best and the family or environment they are in tells us what is most important for the child to know.
So why bother with a diagnostic? Honestly, wouldn’t it be nice if we could get rid of all the labels and just treat the child? Actually, we can. We can work with a child based on their individual strengths and weaknesses and work with the family to determine the needed skills at any given point in time. We can develop programs, teaching procedures and data collection systems without a “label”.
On the other hand, a family might just want to know. Or, the family may have funding sources that could help pay for services if they have a specific label. The child might have access to needed programs in the community if a diagnosis is given. If you feel your child needs a diagnostic assessment for Autism for any reason, Let’s Talk can help. The following assessment packages are now available.
- Autism Diagnostic alone: Assessments may include the ADOS, PEP-R, and parent checklists. Parents meet after the evaluation to discuss results and “next steps”. Cost $600.00
- Autism Diagnostic combined with Speech/Language Assessment: All the diagnostic tools above combined with a speech/language evaluation (recommended for highly verbal children). Cost: $750.00
- Autism Diagnostic with program planning: All of the assessments listed above AND completion of the ABLLS-R and/or VB-MAPP for program planning. Parents are given specific goals and objectives with teaching strategies included. Cost: $1,000.