How long does it take to know if ur child has autism?

Tiamarie - posted on 01/04/2013

Hrm. We're in Virginia. My son only has 2 appointments for testing. Then we're suppose to go back ont he 24th for the results. We've been waiting nearly a year since starting this process. Now he's finally being tested!. I'm sure I'll find out more about what to expect on the 8th when we take him for his first set of testing.

Morgan - posted on 01/03/2013

Im not sure where your from but im in ontario canada. It took almost a complete year for my son to be diagnosed. It was made official after he had his 3 part phychological evaluation. The pediatric developmental specialist originally diagnosed him but the phych one was needed for severity and services

Tiamarie - posted on 01/03/2013

My son, (which is almost 9 now ) has yet to be 'offically' diginosed though we do take him for his first set of testing on the 8th. I have always saw a difference in him, since he was a baby, like a few weeks old. It wasn't anything major just that he was extremely mellow. Not that I didn't mind him not crying but it was a little strange considering we also had my nephew only 13 days older living with us. The only time my son would cry as a baby/toddler was if water was dripped on his head. He has always been more or less a 'loner' so to speak. He can be left alone for hours and be fine. He actually says to me that he wants his alone time when I was to spend time with him. He's never been one to interact a lot with other children. And nothing has changed in my opinion, he just talks more now about the same things over and over again. I finally got his Dr. to refer us to a specialist to get him tested and it took about a year to get this appointment for the actual testing. When we saw the consultant to see if he needed more testing he said he shows signs of autism and ADHD though I have no idea where anyone see's him as hyperactive. Seeing the signs that your child may be autisic is really rather basic, it's the little things and no one knows ones child better than the parent whos raising them.
My question is, how long does the actual testing take? My son has two different days for testing and then we get the results on another day.

Claudia - posted on 04/27/2010

if you go to a specialist it take as long as your kid make the tests (but it could take months to be the next on the waitting list) Now that I look on the past, I find out that I didn't recognize some signs... I just didn't know, but talk with your pediatrician if you have questions now.

Gwen - posted on 04/27/2010

When your gut instinct tells you so.

Karna - posted on 04/26/2010

I agree with all of the above - it depends on the child, and the level of autism. BUT, more children would be diagnosed earlier, if mothers trust their mother's instinct. I new something was wrong with my son since the age of about 18months. Only got a diagnose at 7 and a half, because I trusted the first psychologist we went to. It turned out that she new nothing about autism, also my paed said everything was fine, the speech therapist said something else is wrong, a second psychologist labelled my child as learning-disabled, but not autistic. The third psychologist (another year later) said something else is wrong, but admitted that she doesn't know enough, so she referred me to a neuro-psychologist who finally made the diagnosis. Even though it was a bit of a shock, I immediately KNEW that this time it was the right one. So please, trust your mother instinct. If you get a diagnosis that you are not totally fine with, get another opinion, and another opinion, until you know the diagnosis is the right one. And trust me... you will know.
Oh, forgot to say - ALL the typical signs of autism was noticed by the previous s]psychologist, but they did not have enough information themselves to get to the right diagnosis. Doctors after all are only human.

Aj - posted on 04/25/2010

hi im just coming to the end of the assesment process and like many others i have known something was wrong for most of his life ,hes 8 in 3 weeks so i think it all depends on the child where ur living and how good the people are that are assesing

MARY - posted on 04/24/2010

dear janie, my name is mary and it has taken my husband and i over 10yrs to get an answer. we always knew there was something different from r other 2 kids and everyone said that we were crazy, well NO we r not.... u just have to push until u get ur answer, take him or her to different dr's to even specailist will help, we have to fight for the rights od r children if we don't get them the help that they need they WILL NEVER get it..................

good luck sister

GOD BLESS

Julie - posted on 04/24/2010

Look for the classic signs of withdraw, lack of eye contact, my son wouldn't mind being held but also didn't care if we left him alone with a bucket of toys....for us first signs were around 14mo. had no interest in typical things like throwing/playing ball...reading stories, etc. Our son's eating pattern changed around 20 mo., stopped talking, looking back you can tell it was like an invisible wall fell between you and your kid. Timing often depends on the kid as well as the type/level of autism....the main thing is to seek help with any level of suspicion...good luck

Sheri - posted on 04/24/2010

I suspected it from about 6-9 months. I went through quite a bit of denial. His pediatrician suggested early intervention. I delayed that for about 1 year. I wasn't sure he needed it and had 2 grandparents I was trying to care for that were dying and frankly it was more than I could cope with at the time. I regret waiting though. I would suggest you look into early intervention if your child less than 3. If your child is age 3 or more you can ask for the school (specifically the special ed director for your school district) to test your child with no charge to you. I also suggest you get the first communications or requests in writing through e-mail so you have proof of request. The proof of request is what starts a time line on how much time the school has to respond. The school is required to pay for all testing at this point. I would ask if the school's psychologist has the credentials to give a formal diagnosis. Their school psychologist may start the initial testing but a formal diagnosis may have to come from someone who is more qualified. I would look around and speak with others in your other support groups that maybe in your state and try to find someone close to you that is recommended. If the school doesn't have a contract you may want to ask them to get one if it goes to that level. Also remember to ask for other specific testing. I would consider asking for Asperger's syndrome and Autism. This will go in steps so please do not be overwelmed. Depending on what state you live in insurance may cover it. In Oklahoma it is not covered by insurance. The early intervention services and school are responsible. Just so you know mine is 7 years old, has classic autism and he is functioning above grade level. It is work but with the right tools and frame of mind the sky is the limit on what can be done for your child. I refuse to let anyone decide my sons intellectual ability. Iq testing is based upon verbal responses and I refused for anyone to manipulate just to get a number. My son could not talk until he was about 4-5 years old, he was quite violent and self injurious. He is functioning now in a regular classroom with positive peers. He still has some behaviors but I have not given up. I am a nurse and when I went to nursing school in the 90's in my text books it only mentioned that "usually institutionalized" and not one bit of information how to teach them. How can any child learn if they aren't taught? They may learn different but unless their is something else underlying such as brain injury or fragile x. My son did have a head injury from x2 internal fetal heart monitors where later xrays were determined to cause calcification. I believe he had a fractured skull. Don't give up and don't give in. Keep trying and keep raising the bar for learning, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Renee - posted on 04/23/2010

My son has late onset autism which means he did not really show signs until he was 2 to 2 1/2 years old. He was a normally developing child until then. Even with the signs which we did not know he was not formally diagnosed until age 4 but we knew something was going wrong by age 3 but it did take that time to get a diagnosis.

Beverly - posted on 04/23/2010

Just watched a great special on The DR's today about the signs to look for when your baby is developing. Go to Thedoctorstv.com and check out their advice and resources. It is so different with each child. But getting your child to a doctor or psychologist who can diagnose is your first start after seeing signs. Some doctors do not know enough about autism to make a diagnosis so be sure before you take the time and spend the money to go.

Kelly - posted on 04/23/2010

I am the odd one out I didn't realise there was anything wrong until he was 18 months old. It took me til he was 2 and a half to convince anyone to listen but after he started seeing the Paed it took 6 months for the diagnosis. He is now almost 4 and had made huge progress to until he goes to speak or gets excited that noone notices.

Melissa - posted on 04/23/2010

My son was "different" from the get-go. He was put on a watch list by the pedi at 2 yrs, then dx by a developmental specialist at 3.

Amy - posted on 04/23/2010

my son hasnt been officially dx, but I knew from about 7 months on something was going on, and if im honest the day he was born I knew he was struggling. When I tried to bf he screamed at me, ultimately i gave in and bottle fed him. I wish you luck. For me the dx wont give him more services in this area, so i am holding off on label. We are doing everything we can to help him progress. I have him enrolled in Early on and early head start since he was 10 months and 2.5 respectively.

Morgan - posted on 04/23/2010

For my son I knew by 9 months that something was just not right. Of course I waited until he was 15 months too see if he would catch up but when he didn't I brought him to a Pediatrician. The Pediatrician insisted too me that my son was fine...put it this way I wanted a second opinion so he refered me too a Pediatric Developmental specialist. When I met with him he listened and observed my son for 1 1/2 hours and agreed with me that there was a delay in speech etc. The outcome was autism. Since then I have been working with my son alot...his speech has inproved dramatically and his social skills are getting much better...tantrums are few and far between but what 2 1/2 year old wants too do what you tell him on a good day..lol.
What I'm getting at is it's best too diagnose early. early intervention is the key to unlocking these children (my opinion). It's mommy instinct...and trust me we are always right when it comes too our childen. We are their voice.

Tanya - posted on 04/22/2010

Well, that depends. Each child is different. If you suspect your child may be suffering from ASD, my advise would be to discuss it with your pediatrician, who can refer you to either a child developement specialist, a psychologist, and a geneticist. (from my experiance) . The General medical rule is by 6 months most ASD kids are displaying traits> BUT each child is different and there are different forms and severities of ASD. Once you see a specialist, it really depends on them. With my 1st child it took 3 years, because i had an uneducated pediatrician, however with the subsiquint children 2 visits . It all depends. Hope this Helps !

Janie - posted on 04/22/2010

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