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Parent Matters
Notes for Guiding Children with Autism
and Other Special Needs from Essential Communication, Inc.
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| Contact Us |
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130 Prospect Place
Alpharetta, Georgia 30005
770-817-0181
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| ISSUE 2, JUNE 2009
This edition of Parent Matters is the first in a series exploring the diagnosis of autism.
Check back for future newsletters that expand this discussion.
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| What Does This Diagnosis Mean?, Part I
In the busy nature of medical practices and educational arenas taking time to
help a family process the diagnosis of autism for their child, how it was
arrived at and what it means in real world terms may not always receive the
time and attention it warrants. We want to take our next few newsletters to
cover this issue and provide families with some insights into this process from
a number of vantage points.
In today's world many families already suspect that there is something
'different' about their child. Frequently parents have brought up their concerns
with pediatricians or family physicians. Because of access to information on
the internet and greater public awareness of autism families often have already
explored the possibility that their child has autism. But many families may not
realize that there are two similar but different models in which that diagnosis
can take place. Additionally, no one may have helped them translate that
diagnosis into the impact to their daily life, the services and interventions
that will match the developmental needs of the child and what is the most
current thinking about overcoming autism.
The first diagnostic model is the medical model. A diagnosis of autism can be
made by a physician, usually a neurologist, psychiatrist or developmental
pediatrician. It can also be made by a clinical psychologist. In making that
diagnosis they will use standardized measures (tests and parent inventories),
as well as, informal observations, patient history and parent report to
'rule in' and 'rule out' characteristics of autism as defined by the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-TR (DSM-IV-TR).
The DSM-IV was published in 1994 and is a registered publication of the
American Psychiatric Association. It was the final product of a six-year effort.
Those efforts included comprehensive reviews of the literature to establish a
firm empirical basis for making modifications to the previous diagnostic
criteria for established mental disorders. Minor changes were made in 2000 to a
handful of criteria sets in order to correct errors previously identified in
DSM-IV. This resulted in our current criteria, the DSM-IV-TR. The next
anticipated changes will not likely be seen until 2011 or later.
Autism and its related disorders are actually categorized as Pervasive
Developmental Disorders. The DSM-IV-TR identifies five disorders under the
umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders. They include:
- Autism, identified by Leo Kanner, 1943
- Aspergers Disorder, identified by Hans Aspergers, 1944
- Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)
- Rett's Disorder , identified by Andreas Rett, 1966
- Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Detailed criteria for each are included in the DSM-IV-TR and can be viewed at
the Autism
Information Center of the CDC website. In general, the DSM-IV-TR
identifies 3 primary characteristics of autism, as well as, detailed
descriptions of each characteristic. The three descriptive characteristics are:
- Qualitative Impairment in Social Interaction
- Qualitative Impairment in Communication
- Restricted Repetitive and Stereotyped Patterns of Behavior, Interests
While seeking diagnostic information a family should expect a professional to
spend ample time taking a thorough history and discussing parental concerns,
spend time getting to know both the parents and the child, play with the child,
and use more than one standardized measure.
In our next edition of Parent Matters we will discuss the Educational Model for
diagnosing autism and autism spectrum disorders.
Fondly,
Janice Guice |
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Janice Guice,MA, CCC-SLP
Lisa Cheyette, PhD
Colleen Chambers, MS, CCC-SLP
Essential-Communication, Inc. |
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