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Please feel
free to download/print our Diagnosis Information guide
here.
Information
Needed for Diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Diagnosis of autism can be a tricky affair. According to both commonly
used diagnostic manuals (DSM-IV-Tr1 and ICD-102) a person must show
significant impairment in
1.Social behaviour
2.Communication
And show
3.Repetitive, restricted or stereotyped patters of behaviour
(considered perhaps an impairment in imagination) (Wing, 1992)
In addition to these three areas, it is necessary to show that the
impairments have affected the individual’s development from early
childhood.
Other diagnostic guidance found in the literature includes:
Theory of Mind Deficits (Baron-Cohen, Leslie & Frith, 1985)
An inability to:
1.Predict the actions of others
2.Recognise devious intent
3.Recognise that what is in one person’s mind is not in another
person’s mind
Theory of Central Coherence (Frith, 1989)
Autistic people are unable to integrate pieces of information into a
coherent whole. Thus they:
1.Notice bits of things rather than how those bits go to make up one
thing
2.Find it difficult to apply information learned information to a
new problem
View of Differences by People with Autism (Grandin, 1996)
People with autism prefer to highlight the internal ‘hard-wiring’
differences that result in a diagnosis of autism rather than concentrate
on the outwardly observable behaviours. She highlights differences in:
1.Information processing problems (storing, organising and
retrieving information),
2.Cognitive differences (applying information and seeing ‘the whole’
rather than the ‘bits’)
3.Sensory / perceptual differences (experiencing things differently)
How We
Do It
Brief Therapy Support Services, Ltd use the Autism Diagnostic
Interview – Revised along with observations of an individual during the
interview, and where possible a history of the person’s development from
a family member or friend. The assessment interview usually takes about
2 hours to complete. People coming for an assessment may wish to prepare
by downloading and completing
this form.
The cost is £300 for diagnosis and detailed report.
Concluding Report:
Click here to download a sample report.
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