BuskerSteve
Well-Known Member
When would be the best age for a diagnosis- and how certain are the Doctors of being right
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ASD diagnosis what age is best
- Thread starter BuskerSteve
- Start date
Ideally, as soon as possible for non-verbal children with ASD, so the appropiate support and treatment - speech or occupational therapy can be started, or for verbal children with ASD, when they start school, as school can be very difficult places for them, and they will need support. But it's never too late - I was diagnosed at the age of 41.
There is no conclusive test for ASD, a diagnosis is usually made based on behaviour and cognitive patterns in a child or adults, and a diagnosis is subject to the opinions of the specialists assessing the individual - so yes, there is some room for error. I would like to think that an experienced and qualified specialist would only give such a diagnosis if they were absolutely certain.
There is no conclusive test for ASD, a diagnosis is usually made based on behaviour and cognitive patterns in a child or adults, and a diagnosis is subject to the opinions of the specialists assessing the individual - so yes, there is some room for error. I would like to think that an experienced and qualified specialist would only give such a diagnosis if they were absolutely certain.
I have a friend with a suspected deep spectrum grandchild who they will offer no assessment until he turns five in the USA.
There are quite a few people who begin therapies sooner as they have as it will harm no child to get any ASD related help even if the kid is not actually in the spectrum.
There are quite a few people who begin therapies sooner as they have as it will harm no child to get any ASD related help even if the kid is not actually in the spectrum.
I am a firm believer that a diagnosis should happen during childhood. While there is no cure for ASD, consoling can help a lot. It can help the child deal with his weakness's and more importantly, take advantage of his considerable strengths. When I was a kid, nobody knew anything about Asperger's. I was just the weird kid with very, very poor social skills. Schoolwork was easy for me, but the social setting of school was not. By the time I graduated from high school, I had had all I could handle of the social setting of school and did not go any further in school. I was diagnosed at age 62 and have learned a lot about AS in the years since then. Now I believe that if I had been consoled as a kid I may have been able to overcome my lack of social skills and went further with my education.
Sometimes we are made to conform to what society wants us to be, but some of us can,and some can't. I think a well structured environment has a lot to do with how well we can adjust to social pressures.
I attribute my success to parenting that allowed me to explore my world,the same parents that were unaware that autism even existed,but became my first mentors
