What Autism Testing Is Available?and autism screening tools. Various autism screening questionnaires and autism checklists are available to aid physicians in the diagnosis of autism.
These tests only guide the diagnostic process, but do not actually make a diagnosis.
Ideally, all children would be screened by their family medicine physician or general pediatrician at each well-child visit.
Any child who did not adequately meet developmental milestones , who show early signs of autism , or who indicated difficulties in the autism screening process should be referred for more specific autism testing.
The Denver Developmental Screening Test is used by many family medicine physicians and general pediatricians as a general screening tool for developmental delays. However, this tool is not specific for autism.
More specific autism screening tools are The Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) and The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) for toddlers between 18 and 24 months old. The parents complete the first section of the questionnaire and the primary care doctor completes the second section. The CHAT was developed for the United Kingdom. The M-CHAT was developed for the United States.
The Autism Screening Questionnaire is for children who are at least 4 years old through adult. This questionnaire consists of 40 items.
Intelligence Testing is usually performed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) for children between 5 and 16 years old. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is used for adults. Various scales such as the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI) or the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale may be used for toddlers and preschool children.
The child should be evaluated for full scale IQ, performance (nonverbal) IQ, and verbal IQ. Mental retardation occurs when the full scale IQ is less than 70. IQ may be above normal, normal, or below normal for individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS) can be administered to a child from 3 to 22 years of age by a parent or a teacher. This scale only takes 5 to 10 minutes, and provides standardized scores for behaviors, communication, social interaction, developmental, and autism quotient. The GARS is based on the DSM-IV. The Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale is a more specific autism testing instrument for Asperger’s Syndrome.
The Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS) is used to assess for Asperger's Syndrome. This scale only takes 10-15 minutes for anyone to answer 50 yes/no questions about a child between 5-18 years old.
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) evaluates toddlers through adults for characteristics along the autism spectrum. It emphasizes social and communication skills in a highly structured environment. Your child may also need to be tested in other setting, also.
Parents are interviewed in the Parent Interviews for Autism (PIA) about the development of their child. The results are used with other autism questionnaires and autism checklists. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) only takes 5 to 10 minutes to administer, can be used for children over 2 years old, and only has 15 items. The purpose of this autism testing instrument is to distinguish autism from other developmental disabilities, and to differentiate moderate autism from severe autism. CARS is based on observation of the child with respect to their relationship to people, use of body, adaptation to change, response to listening, and verbal communication.
A formal audiologic evaluation should be conducted to assess for conductive, sensorineural, and mixed hearing loss that may account for some of the symptoms of autism.
Lead screening along with thyroid testing (TSH) should also be performed for any developmental disorder. At the same time, other routine blood work such as a complete blood count (CBC), electrolytes and renal function (BMP), and liver function (LFT) should also be done to rule out any other medical condition. Evaluation for seizures should be considered if the child demonstrates blackouts or convulsions, or if the child has ever lost developmental skills. An electroencephalogram (EEG) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are used to assess seizure disorders. If indicated, other autism testing may include but not limited to educational testing for learning disabilities, speech and language evaluation, neuropsychological testing, nutritional assessment, occupational therapy evaluation, and physical therapy evaluation. Testing for chronic Lyme disease should be performed by a Lyme specialist who are often called Lyme Literate Medical Doctors (LLMD). These specialists know how to properly test for this disease and how to properly interpret the test results. Chronic Lyme disease may induce or exacerbate autism symptoms. Often, additional autism testing may not be necessary if the physician is adequately experienced and knowledgeable about autism. They may be able to diagnose autism based on signs and symptoms only.
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