Taking the first step to understand your child’s development is crucial. At Marcus Autism Center, we are dedicated to providing families with thorough Autism Assessment And Diagnosis services. Our expert team specializes in evaluating children who may have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), utilizing the gold standard in diagnostic evaluations.
Our evaluations go beyond simply determining if a child meets the criteria for autism. We aim to create a comprehensive profile of your child’s unique strengths and challenges. This detailed understanding is essential for guiding personalized treatment and intervention strategies, ensuring your child receives the most appropriate support from the outset. Marcus Autism Center offers the advantage of integrated, multidisciplinary care, bringing all the necessary services together in one place for your convenience and peace of mind.
Evaluations for Toddlers
For children aged 2 years and younger, our toddler evaluations are conducted by a multidisciplinary team in a single-day appointment, typically lasting about 3 hours. This focused evaluation includes several key components:
- Parent Interview with a Medical Provider: A detailed discussion to gather essential background information and address your specific concerns.
- Developmental Assessment: A careful evaluation of your child’s developmental milestones to identify any areas of delay or difference.
- Social Interaction and Play Assessment: Observing your child’s social engagement, play skills, and interaction patterns to understand their social-communication development.
- Adaptive Assessment: Evaluating your child’s adaptive behavior skills, which are everyday skills needed to function independently.
- Parent Feedback Session: Immediately following the assessments, we provide a feedback session to discuss our preliminary findings, including diagnostic impressions, your child’s strengths and areas for growth, and initial recommendations.
Following the evaluation, you will receive a comprehensive written report detailing our findings and recommendations.
Evaluations for Preschool and School-Age Children
For children aged 3 years and older, the diagnostic evaluation process is structured into two appointments, ensuring a thorough and detailed assessment.
Diagnostic Interview
The first appointment is a one-hour diagnostic interview with the parents or caregivers. During this session, a clinician will gather in-depth information about your child’s developmental history, current behaviors, and any symptoms of concern. You may also be asked to complete parent rating scales and provide forms for your child’s teacher or other caregivers to offer additional perspectives. It’s important for your child to be present at this appointment as the clinician may want to observe their interaction with you.
Testing Appointment
Following the diagnostic interview, a testing appointment is often scheduled, usually within a few weeks. This appointment, lasting approximately 5 hours, involves a comprehensive assessment of various areas of your child’s development:
- Cognitive Abilities or Developmental Level: Assessing your child’s thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and overall developmental progress.
- Social Interaction: Evaluating the nuances of your child’s social communication, reciprocity, and understanding of social cues.
- Communication Skills: Assessing both verbal and nonverbal communication abilities, including understanding and use of language.
- Emotional Functioning: Exploring your child’s emotional regulation, expression, and understanding of emotions.
- Behavioral Patterns: Observing and analyzing your child’s behaviors to identify any patterns or challenges.
- Adaptive Skills: A detailed assessment of your child’s daily living skills and independence in various settings.
The testing appointment includes direct interaction and assessment with your child for most of the morning, a lunch break for families, and an afternoon feedback session with parents. During this feedback session, we will discuss diagnostic conclusions, your child’s specific strengths and weaknesses, and personalized treatment recommendations. A detailed written report summarizing all findings will be provided to you after the evaluation is complete.
Referrals for Autism Assessment
To schedule an autism assessment and diagnosis for your child at Marcus Autism Center, a doctor’s referral is required. Please proceed with the steps to make a new patient appointment to begin the process. We are here to support you and your child every step of the way.
Alt text details:
- Image 1 Alt Text: Child engrossed in block play, highlighting assessment of play skills during autism diagnosis at Marcus Autism Center. Keywords: autism assessment, child play, diagnostic evaluation.
- Image 2 Alt Text: Compassionate clinician interacting with toddler during autism diagnostic process, emphasizing early childhood assessment. Keywords: toddler autism diagnosis, early assessment, clinician interaction.
- Image 3 Alt Text: Dedicated clinician administering tests to child as part of comprehensive autism evaluation for accurate diagnosis. Keywords: autism evaluation process, child testing, diagnostic accuracy.
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