What do they do at the 18 and 24 month evaluation?? To check for Autism??

Question

my friend would like to know cuz her son is going in for this evaluation and she would like to know what to expect. she is going in for the 18 month one.

Answer 1

They just watch the child and look for signs, that is all you can do with autism.  They have the parent(s) fill out a long questionaire about what they have noticed at home and in other places and then they ask more questions and watch the child and see how they react to different situations.  They are trained to look for the signs.  At 18 months though the diagnosis is very hard, they usually won't really diagnose until 3 years old but they are now seeing the signs much earlier.  I know some that had the signs at birth.

Answer 2

1. they place the child, with the parent in a room full of toys.

2. they watch through a two way mirror.

3. they come in and interact with the child.

4. they put the child in a cool swing and see his or her reaction to it.

5. they get together in a team of about 7 or 8 professionals and discuss what they saw.

6. they explain, one by one what they have observed to the parents.

7. they tell you rather they believe the child to be autistic.

8. if they can not tell because the child is not testable or seems to be autistic but maybe just delayed they tell you they will need to test again in the future.

9. they send you to get a blood test to see if the child has the x chromosome (downs).

10. they refer you to get the childs hearing tested, if the child does not respond when he or she is being talked to, called, or a loud noise occurs.