What is autism?
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability. It is a spectrum of disorders which presents differently in each person, and can be diagnosed in child or adulthood.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of related brain-based (neurodevelopmental) disorders that affect a child's behaviour, social and communication skills.
The three main areas of concern are difficulty with:
- social communication (language skills)
- social interaction (eye contact, friendships)
- social imagination (play and behaviour).
Autism is diagnosed by looking at a child or young person’s social communications and interactions to see whether their behaviour, interests, or activities have any restricted or repetitive patterns.
Your observations of your child are crucial and must be listened to when a concern is raised.
Health assessments, such as health visitor drop-ins and home visits, enable very early identification of a range of medical, physical and developmental difficulties.
Health services, including paediatricians, GPs and health visitors, will work with you to understand your child’s needs and help access early support. If they think that your child has, or probably has, a special educational need (SEN), they must tell you and us as well.
They must also give you the opportunity to discuss your opinion and let you know about any voluntary organisations that can provide advice or assistance.
This includes educational advice, guidance and any intervention to be put in place at an early point, and before the child starts school.
If your child is preschool age, your health visitor or GP may carry out a ‘screening interview’ called M-CHAT (modified checklist for autism in toddlers). This will not give you a diagnosis, but it is a way of indicating whether your child may be autistic.
If you have a school-age child, it can be useful to make an appointment with the school’s special educational needs coordinator or learning support teacher to discuss your concerns. Teaching staff may have also identified similar behaviours and characteristics and be able to offer support in pursuing a diagnosis for your child.
Once your GP or health visitor, or the professional referring, is able to identify behaviours and characteristics of autistic spectrum disorder, your child should be referred for a formal assessment.