Re: Developmental Pediatrician vs Psychologists for Diagnosis

[Guest guest]

Jill,

Are you in Austin?

Developmental Pediatrician vs Psychologists

for Diagnosis

Does anyone know which would be more reliable in diagnosing? My son has

received two different diagnosis. One from a Developmental Pediatrician and

one

from a Psychologist. We have an appointment to do Psychological testing for

a third opinion. They will administer the ADOF test and an ADI test.

Thanks,

Jill

[Guest guest]

Hi Jill. IMHO, it doesn't matter so much who makes the diagnosis. I think

the tool that's used is more important. School districts use the CARS and

GARS quite a bit, but those diagnostic tools tend to underdiagnose autism,

especially kids who do not have a lot of stims. There are also a lot of

quick and easy checklists (in fact, a lot of physicians will just use the

DSM criteria, although that's a pretty subjective way of diagnosing autism.)

The ADOS is supposed to be more objective than other tests and a lot of

people consider it to be the gold standard for diagnosing autism.

For educational purposes, the autism label can be helpful. However, if

you're looking for medical treatments, the autism label probably won't be

all that helpful.

Geraldine

Developmental Pediatrician vs Psychologists

for Diagnosis

>

> Does anyone know which would be more reliable in diagnosing? My son has

> received two different diagnosis. One from a Developmental Pediatrician

> and one

> from a Psychologist. We have an appointment to do Psychological testing

> for

> a third opinion. They will administer the ADOF test and an ADI test.

> Thanks,

> Jill

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

On the autism label, I wish I knew then what I know now. Insurance wouldn't

cover our speech therapy because the autism code was used. You would think

more medical practitioners would know to avoid this! Use any code BUT

autism.

_____

From: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

[mailto:Texas-Autism-Advocacy ] On Behalf Of Geraldine Bliss

Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 11:21 PM

To: Texas-Autism-Advocacy

Subject: Re: Developmental Pediatrician vs

Psychologists for Diagnosis

Hi Jill. IMHO, it doesn't matter so much who makes the diagnosis. I think

the tool that's used is more important. School districts use the CARS and

GARS quite a bit, but those diagnostic tools tend to underdiagnose autism,

especially kids who do not have a lot of stims. There are also a lot of

quick and easy checklists (in fact, a lot of physicians will just use the

DSM criteria, although that's a pretty subjective way of diagnosing autism.)

The ADOS is supposed to be more objective than other tests and a lot of

people consider it to be the gold standard for diagnosing autism.

For educational purposes, the autism label can be helpful. However, if

you're looking for medical treatments, the autism label probably won't be

all that helpful.

Geraldine

Developmental Pediatrician vs Psychologists

for Diagnosis

>

> Does anyone know which would be more reliable in diagnosing? My son has

> received two different diagnosis. One from a Developmental Pediatrician

> and one

> from a Psychologist. We have an appointment to do Psychological testing

> for

> a third opinion. They will administer the ADOF test and an ADI test.

> Thanks,

> Jill

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jill welcome to the wacky world of autism, where the label is

determined by how a particular child looks for a particular

person on a particular day!

Well, actually both tests have their limitations. CARS tends to

underselect, ADOS tends to overselect (and puts children who

are only ADD in the autism spectrum) You just have to make sure

that your practioner has been properly trained in whichever

instrument they use. There seems to be a movement led by Fred Volkmar

to make ADOS the gold standard, but . . . . . .I've heard mixed

results from clinicians who use it day in day out.

Geraldine's right about the autism diagnosis--it's not very useful

for getting any insurance based services, usually you need other

diagnoses. It can be useful to get school services if those school

services are worth the trouble.

S.

Re: Developmental Pediatrician vs

Psychologists for Diagnosis

Hi Jill. IMHO, it doesn't matter so much who makes the diagnosis. I think

the tool that's used is more important. School districts use the CARS and

GARS quite a bit, but those diagnostic tools tend to underdiagnose autism,

especially kids who do not have a lot of stims. There are also a lot of

quick and easy checklists (in fact, a lot of physicians will just use the

DSM criteria, although that's a pretty subjective way of diagnosing autism.)

The ADOS is supposed to be more objective than other tests and a lot of

people consider it to be the gold standard for diagnosing autism.

For educational purposes, the autism label can be helpful. However, if

you're looking for medical treatments, the autism label probably won't be

all that helpful.

Geraldine

Developmental Pediatrician vs Psychologists

for Diagnosis

>

> Does anyone know which would be more reliable in diagnosing? My son has

> received two different diagnosis. One from a Developmental Pediatrician

> and one

> from a Psychologist. We have an appointment to do Psychological testing

> for

> a third opinion. They will administer the ADOF test and an ADI test.

> Thanks,

> Jill

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

We've also had a diagnosis from a developmental ped and one from a child

psych. The psychologist was more thorough- in fact, the developmental ped

referred us to the psych for a more thorough assessment. So for us, the

psychologist was better.

Anne

-- Developmental Pediatrician vs Psychologists

for Diagnosis

Does anyone know which would be more reliable in diagnosing? My son has

received two different diagnosis. One from a Developmental Pediatrician

and one

from a Psychologist. We have an appointment to do Psychological testing

for

a third opinion. They will administer the ADOF test and an ADI test.

Thanks,

Jill