ASSESSMENT FOR AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Children (5-17yrs)
All children are different, and it is important to accommodate and accept such differences. At the West Dorset Practice we recognise that children develop at different speeds and in different ways, and that society can make demands on children to develop in the ‘right’ timeframes and manner. It can often be unavoidable that parents feel pressures and anxieties if they feel that their child is struggling in line with their age-related peers, or other expectations. In many situations, there are lots of different reasons to understand a child’s behaviour and difficulties, and with time children will often settle and make progress.
In some circumstances however, there are concerns about a child’s development that are ongoing and shared by a number of people e.g. parents/carers, schools, health visitors and family members. These concerns may relate to delays in the development of broad areas such as language and communication, social relationships (friendships) and education. Concerns may also relate to more specific difficulties, for example, that the child may find transitions very stressful, struggle with thinking in a more complex or abstract manner (and instead interpret things in a particularly concrete/literal manner), may become intensely focused on a particular topic or behaviour and be unaware of some social rules (e.g. back and forth conversations or sharing of information).
If you have noticed differences with your child’s development, or perhaps you’ve had some discussions with your child’s school, it can be concerning and working out what to do can be daunting.
Please feel able to contact us for a no-obligation conversation about your concerns and to find out whether an assessment with your child would be helpful.
Adult (18+yrs)
Autism is understood as a spectrum because it is different for everyone. Many people learn to cope with life in their own ways, although this can be hard work. The characteristics of autism vary from one person to another, but in order for a diagnosis to be made, a person will usually be assessed as having had persistent difficulties in the following areas:
- Social communication
- Social interaction
- Restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviours, activities or interests (this includes sensory behaviour)
Adult assessments can be completed at any time, and it is not unusual for adults to receive diagnoses in their mid-life years (40+yrs). It is understood that adults with ASD will have had difficulties since early childhood but will have learned ways of managing their difficulties, and in many circumstances will have had a life-long sense of being different to others. Perhaps you have felt this way. Despite the means of managing the social and cognitive difficulties, these are likely to have limited and impacted your everyday functioning and can result in long-standing emotional difficulties e.g. anxiety and depression.
If you have concerns of this manner, please contact us for a discussion and we can talk through what an assessment would involve.
