How long to diagnose autism?

Question

My 2 1/2 yr old son is showing "2 or 3 red flags" for autism according to GP. Have an appointment tomorrow with paediatric Dr. Will we come home with a diagnosis or will it be over a series or months/weeks ? Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

Hun depends on the hospital ..when Thomas was diagnosed they took us to an assessment unit at the local hospital for a 6 week course Thomas was severe so within 2 weeks he was diagnosed BUT we still had to attend the rest of the assessment , they will look at your son's basic skills playing and interaction ...

Answer 2

Autism is a very hard disease to diagnose.  It can take a long time.  If the doctor did diagnose him tomorrow, I'd still keep track of all his symptoms, and then take him to another doctor.  It could be other problems, and treatable ones at that which could be causing the problems.  Good luck!  My prayers are with your son!

Answer 3

As others have said, diagnosis takes awhile. Be on the look out for signs and make sure you have regular doctor visits, even if you don't get a diagnosis right away. The article in the source has some more ideas of things to watch for. Good luck.

Answer 4

My cousin went to a few doctors for 3rd, 4th opinions.  Be sure to go to at least another dr. when you get the results.

Answer 5

My cousin took her son to a paediatric when he was 4 and within 45 minutes he told her he was 100% her son was autistic. However I believe it is easier to tell the older the child and they may not give you a definate answer until he is a little older.

Answer 6

Diagnosis is not very accurate at 12 months.  My 2 were dx at 9m and 25m by a neurologist with PDD.NOS (autistic features).  We were told within minutes of being evaluated.  This sight is a nice fairly accurate assessment screening that can be useful to bring to a specialist.

http://www.childbrain.com

then click on PDD/autism then assessment

Answer 7

I got diagnosed 3 months after my 18 birthday.

Don't be scared. They are going to ask you a list of questions usually like 50. They will know right away usually. Since you are dealing with a little one, speech is usually the key factor.

Treat him the same. I found somethingI was really good at from a young age. I turn out to be a great instrumentallist with no insttruction what so ever. I was a music major through college and am doing great.

People work with you and your son. Basically now I just have social anxiety and bad eye contact. It will work for you.