Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluations

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Determining whether a child/adolescent meets the criteria of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be challenging, as the ramifications are significant for the individual’s future. ASD, previously referred to as Asperger’s Disorder (as well as Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder), is a neurological disorder in which individuals exhibit social communication deficits and restricted/repetitive behaviors. Accurate identification of developmental difficulties such as ASD is possible with a comprehensive assessment. Questions typically asked and answered by such an assessment include: “My child has several features of ASD, but does that mean that he’s on the spectrum?” or, “My daughter has been diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety, but that doesn’t seem to explain the difficulties we’re seeing socially. Could something else be contributing to these difficulties?”.