There's an interesting option for parents of a child who is showing a delayed or different pathway in reaching milestones of communication and development. The journal Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology published a questionnaire to help parents get a glimpse into what is occurring in their child's brain as well as present the idea that the child might be on the Autism Spectrum. While not an official diagnosis, this free tool uses 39 questions about a child's behavior, interactions, and communication to give parents ideas about if the child is on the spectrum or not.
Getting an official diagnosis takes time, and we've heard from many parents that the process can take up to 3 years. With strategies and support services available at all age levels, this tool could help speed up the process to finding solutions for a child's needs and help build a more effective family system to support the child and siblings. Often an ASD diagnosis for 1 child in the family affects the rest of the family dynamic, and our hope is that this tool gets families and children the services they need in a more timely manner. Check out the links below to the news article describing this tool as well as related links:
News article:
Description of questionnaire
Questionnaire:
Comentarios