How is autism diagnosed?

Answer 1

The American Psychiatric Association in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - IV-TR (2000) defines Autistic Disorder as a pervasive developmental disorder that is characterized by three major symptoms - impairment in social interactions, impairments in communication, and restrictive repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior.

For a diagnosis of Autistic Disorder, impairments in social interactions must include two of the following: lack of eye contact or other gestures to regulate social interactions, failure to develop developmentally appropriate relationships with peers, a lack of desire to share enjoyment with others, or a lack of social or emotional reciprocity.

Impairments in communication must be manifested in one of three forms of impairment including a delay of or complete lack of language development, inability to initiate or sustain conversation with others, repetitive use of language, or lack of spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative language.

Restrictive repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior must be manifested in one of the following ways: preoccupation with one or more stereotyped behaviors or interests that is disproportionally intense, extreme inflexibility with routine, stereotyped or repetitive movements, or a preoccupation with specific parts of objects.

One or more of these symptoms must be delayed or abnormally functioning prior to age 3. Autistic Disorder is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The following notes are taken from the DSM-IV. There are various symptoms that, in certain combinations, indicate the presence of Autistic Disorder. What is given here is informational, and it is not sufficient to determine a diagnosis. Anyone who is concerned about a child should seek professional help before leaping to unfounded conclusions based on these general summarized notes. A child with Autistic Disorder may show: Marked impairment in the use of nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eye gaze, facial expression; Failure developing peer relationships; Lack of social or emotional reciprocity; Delay in, or total lack of development of spoken language; Impairment in ability to initiate or sustain conversations; Repetitive or idiosyncratic use of language; Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior; Inflexible adherence to routines or rituals; Preoccupation with parts of objects. Any of these may be caused by other conditions. Only professional assessment can lead to a meaningful diagnosis and course of treatment. As is the case with any interesting diagnostic information, there is a temptation to read symptomatology into ordinary behaviors, and the truth is that many ordinary people have done one or more of the above at one point or another in their lives.

Answer 2

Usually, the diagnostic criteria from either the DSM IV or the ICD-10 is used. Professionals who have worked extensively with people with Asperger's Syndrome sometimes use slightly different criteria because of knowledge gained from experience. There is a link to the related question, "What are the diagnostic criteria for Asperger's Syndrome?" which has more information. Areas of consideration for diagnosis are impaired social interactions, repetitive patterns of behavior, impaired nonverbal skills, and no clinically significant delay in cognitive and language development (but possible oddities).

One aspect of diagnosing Asperger's Syndrome is eliminating other possibilities that have similar symptoms, such as hearing difficulties or schizophrenia.

Asperger's Syndrome might be officially or unofficially diagnosed by a psychiatrist, a doctor or other medical professional, a special education professional, an early childhood educator, a vocational rehab counselor, etc. This does not mean that everyone in these professions has the experience to diagnose Asperger's Syndrome, but some focus on autism spectrum disorders. I know one person who was diagnosed by a vocational rehab counselor who helped people with autism spectrum disorders find and keep jobs. I know a person who worked in early childhood education and had a passion to help children with autism, so with experience became adept at diagnosing that condition. For children, it is best to get an official diagnosis, which means a diagnosis from a medical professional.

Sometimes, the person self-diagnoses himself or herself after learning about the characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome. Sometimes family members decide the person must have Asperger's Syndrome, often after another person in the family has been officially diagnosed with autism or Asperger's Syndrome.

Answer 3

The diagnosis of autism varies in children. However, the most common symptoms include no: babbling or pointing by age 1, single words by 16 months or two word phrases by age 2, response to name, and no smiling or social responsiveness.

Answer 4

There is no standard assessment for Autism, especially not in adults. Typically you'd see an Autism specialist, often they are therapists so can rule-out mental health issues that may be mistaken for Autism such as social anxiety disorder. You'd be asked questions about what you were like as a child and how you deal with things day-to-day, they may also want to ask friends and family members for their view of you but this is not always needed. It can take a few hours or a few years, depending on what issues you have and how clear-cut the diagnosis is for you.

Answer 5

Observation of symptoms, there are nolaboratory tests (e.g. blood, urine, imaging, EEG) for autism.