Expert: Trey McGowan - 3/12/2007

Question
How extensive is the testing that is required for an austic diagnosis?  We have an 8 year old daughter that we are currently trying to get tested.  The school tells me that it is extensive testing but MHMR says that the type of testing that has already been done is enough.  There is one more meeting with MHMR(will take 30 minutes to an hour) where the Dr. will ask me some questions and just kinda observe my daughter.  He will then have all the information he needs for a diagnosis.  He has the same information that the school has.  In fact, all but one test comes from the school.  I am upset that the people involved in the school system seem to be giving us the runaround...not all of them...just the new speech therapist.  It took me going to the principal to finally get her to move into action.  I am mainly asking how extensive the testing needs to be and maybe what they are looking for.

Answer
Hi Helene!

I'm not a doctor myself, but as this question's been roosting in the pool for a while, I figured I might as well answer with a personal experience and some research on the subject. A basic testing will generally be able to give an idea on whether the child is diagnosed as autistic. The issue from there, however, is the amount of 'autistic spectrum' that may have to be brought into it, and any coexisting problems. ADHD or depression, for example, tend to be commonly found in individuals with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

The thing with schools is that they are not medically trained to handle these diagnoses. They can witness and give the information, but if they hand off a medical diagnosis (or even one that seems like one), there can be trouble in the long run. This is one of the reasons that it might feel like the school is giving a runaround.

As for the speech therapist, well, that may just be a lack of information. Or, alternatively, it may be that the speech therapy has a different set of testing strictures than the actual autism. Best suggestion there is to ask him straight up. Of course, I'm sure that's something you'd already done!

Hope that helped!

Trey