How to get a diagnosis of autism

Your doctor can refer your child for assessment. Other health professionals may also refer you on to specialists but your General Practitioner (GP) is the usual starting point.

Once your child is referred you may see just one expert, or a team of professionals. Check that they have experience in diagnosing children with autism.1

They will ask you questions about your child. You should make a note of how your child is growing and any worries you may have. Think about:

• how they behave with you and other close family members
• how they behave with strangers
• their physical development
• how they play
• their health, including any difficulties with toileting, eating, sleeping
• if they are speaking or making sounds
• anything else which has worried you

There is no single test for autism and professionals sometimes disagree with each other. 2 A diagnosis of autism is rarely made until after a child is two; the average age is about five and a half. 3

Once your child is referred, different professionals may spend time watching your child to check or assess the way they behave on their own and with others. If your child is being assessed for learning difficulties and/or behaviour problems at school, they will often be watched in the classroom. Some professionals may do tests with your child to check their understanding, for example. Health professionals may examine them for physical problems.

The professionals who may assess your child include:

• a paediatrician
• a psychiatrist
• a clinical psychologist
• an educational psychologist
• a speech and language therapist
• an occupational therapist

Other experts may check whether your child has disabilities such as epilepsy, hearing or visual problems.

Sometimes there may be delay in giving your child a diagnosis because professionals are unsure and want to wait and see. An early diagnosis can speed up the help for your child, but it is also important that you get the right diagnosis. Even if professionals are not sure whether your child has autism, they should be able to say what your child’s difficulties are and the extra help they need.

Footnotes

1. National Autistic Society website: getting a referral to a diagnostician
2. Autistic Spectrum Disorders good practice guidance, DfES 2002
3. National Autism Plan for Children produced by NIASA:National Initiative for Autism Screening and Assessment