Autism is a life-long neurodevelopmental disability that is characterised by a different way of processing the world and autistic individuals may share some of the following traits;

Social communication differences: may communicate through echolalia, have a louder or softer tone of voice than expected, may not meet typical speech milestones, loves to talk about special interests, may be literal in language use.

Different non-verbal communication: may find it hard to interpret body language and tone, preference for looking away when communicating, may use social gestures in isolation, facial expressions on the outside may not reflect internal emotions.

Different social relationships: may be happy in their own world or with one other friend, may find comfort in parallel play, may find it difficult to join large groups, may find relationships with autistic people eaiser.

Strong interests: may have very strong interests, may find it distressing when transitioning away from items of interest.

A preference for routine and structure: Does best when knowing what is happening and all of the details, may prefer to do things in the same way, may find sudden changes and transitions distressing.

Repetitive behaviour: may enjoy lining things up, may enjoy scripting from tv shows or music, may use repetitive movements to express feelings (i.e. flaps hands, spins, rocks).

Sensory processing differences: may have atypical responses to sensory stimuli such as finding certain fabrics intolerable, sudden loud noises distressing or seeking out certain sensations in order to regulate.

(Reference: Sandhya Menon)

Assessing Autism

Autism assessment requires thorough diagnostic assessments by a multidisciplinary team made up of a paediatrician/child psychiatrist, psychologist and speech pathologist. The industry standard instruments to assess Autism are the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale- 2^nd Edition (ADOS-2) and the Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R). These diagnostic tools should be used together with other assessments to form part of a thorough diagnostic assessment. Melissa Damin can conduct a diagnostic assessment for Autism, however a paediatrician and speech pathologist would also need to be consulted for a comprehensive diagnosis to be made. 

The diagnostic process occurs over 3 sessions which includes:

• Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised (ADI-R) conducted with parents/guardian. (approximately 1.5-2 hours)
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2). This consists of a series of play activities with the child, which allows for observations of their behaviour and communication. This session may be recorded with parent permission for consensus scoring by another psychologist.
• The Autism spectrum rating scales (ASRS) provided to the parents and educator.
• The Vineland Adaptive Behaviour scales- Third Edition provided to the parents and educator.
• Feedback of diagnostic report by psychologist.

FEES

Complete Diagnostic Assessment- $1715.28

• Includes two to three sessions with psychologist:
• ADOS-2, ADI-R, ASRS, Vineland, feedback and report