FAQs: Autism Evaluations
How do I know if my child needs an autism evaluation? There are many different reasons that parents seek an autism evaluation for their child. A child may have been flagged by a pediatrician after scoring as at-risk for autism during routine screening, parents may have concerns based on their child's behavior (signs and symptoms of autism) or their child’s school may have raised concerns about their development and behavior. Sometimes children have been diagnosed with something other than autism but parents are concerned that this diagnosis may not be correct. All of these are good reasons to seek out a full diagnostic evaluation from a qualified professional.
Can an adult get an autism evaluation? While most people think of autism as a disability identified in childhood, there are some adults who wonder if their disability may have been “missed” when they were children. While it can be a bit more challenging to get an autism diagnosis as an adult, it is definitely possible. It is important to seek out a qualified professional who has experience diagnosing autism in adulthood. Also, an important part of the process will be that a person who knew you as a child (ideally a parent or caregiver that you lived with) will participate in the evaluation. As autism is a developmental disorder, the clinician will need information about your early life and development.
Where do you get an autism evaluation? Most often a psychologist is the person to complete an autism evaluation, although other professionals, for example, a developmental pediatrician or a speech-language pathologist may also complete evaluations. Make sure that the professional you choose is 1) licensed in their field, 2) has received specialized training in diagnosing autism, and 3) uses gold-standard instruments such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS).
Will health insurance cover an autism evaluation? Health insurance will almost always cover an autism evaluation for children. In order for your insurance company to cover the evaluation, you may need to get a referral from your pediatrician, check with your individual insurance company. Autism evaluations for adults can be a bit tricky. You will need to work with your individual provider to see if they will cover this service.
What happens at an autism evaluation? While every professional will do things a little bit differently, most autism evaluations will consist of the same three main components. 1) A structured interview with a parent or caregiver of the child (or adult). During this interview, the clinician will ask questions about early development, review autism symptoms, and get details about current functioning. 2) The clinical will also ask the parents, teachers (if the child is in school), and the child or adult themselves (if age-appropriate) to complete structured questionnaires. 3) The clinician will complete direct testing with the child (or adult). This will usually consist of autism-specific testing and cognitive testing. Depending on the situation there may be other types of direct testing, for example, language testing. For very young children, the parent will be present during direct testing, but for most children, the parent will not be present. After the evaluation, the clinician will schedule a time to provide the results of the evaluation in a feedback session.
What happens after the evaluation? After the evaluation, there will be a gap in time (usually 2-4 weeks) for the clinician to score all the forms and tests, review the background information, make a diagnosis and write a report. After the clinician has completed the report, an in-person feedback session scheduled will be scheduled. During this feedback session, you should receive a diagnostic report that contains all the results of testing and any applicable diagnoses. This report should also contain recommendations and resources. During the feedback session, you should make sure that you understand everything in the report and ask any and all questions that you have about the diagnosis, report, and recommendations.
How will getting an autism evaluation help me/my child? For children, a formal autism diagnosis is often the first step to getting supports and services. For example, insurance companies will need to see that your child has a formal diagnosis before they will reimburse for ABA services. It can also be extremely helpful for people to be able to have a name for the difficulties that they or their child are experiencing. Having a diagnosis can help families and individuals to acknowledge their strengths and challenges and empower them to find services, supports, and community.
