Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterised by significant and
chronic impairment in a number of different developmental areas. The
main developmental domains that affected are social interaction
(especially the perception of social cues), severely impaired
communication skills (both verbal and non-verbal), and stereotyped
behaviour patterns, interests and activities. ASD includes Childhood
Autism, Asperger's Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not
Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS).
Helping Children
with Autism Initiative
The Helping
Children with Autism initiative is a nation wide approach
to involve medical and allied health professionals in the
assessment, diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Accordingly, both the assessment and treatment of ASDs are covered
by Medicare. The Medicare rebate is provided for
professional services by eligible psychologists, speech
pathologists and occupational therapists upon appropriate
referral from a paediatrician or child psychiatrist.
We are
approved Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)
psychology providers and upon referral from your paediatrician or
child psychiatrist we offer professional assessment of Autism
Spectrum Disorders that is covered by
Medicare. The pathway to access our services under
the Medicare scheme is shown
below:
Pathways to Autism Assessment and
Intervention
(Adopted from: Department of Health and Ageing, 2009.
I know every child is different, but I'm still worried... A
guide to the assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorder,
www.autism.ahpa.com.au)
Characteristics of
Autism Spectrum Disorders
The most easily
recognisable characteristic of ASDs is a child's gross impairment in
reciprocal social functioning. Children with ASDs don't respond to
other people's emotions and lack "theory of mind", the knowledge
that others possess feelings, wants and desires. When these children
interact with others they show an inability to rely on
non-verbal skills, such as eye contact, appropriate facial
expression, gestures and body posture. Consequently, they are
unable to form close and enduring relationships. Similarly, they
show little or no need for social relationships and
sharing.
Children with Autism (but not Asperger's Syndrome,
also called high functioning Autism) also show severe impairment in
communication. Most often communication problems manifest by delay
in language development, the inability to initiate or maintain a
conversation, idiosyncratic language use (e.g., repetition of single
words), and the lack of age appropriate make believe
play.
Finally, ASDs are characterised by stereotyped
behaviour patterns, interests and activities. Children with
ASDs can be obsessive about routines, timetables or objects.
They may show stereotyped and repetitive motor movements, such as
flapping fingers or wrists, walking on toes or whole body
movements. Children may also show extreme fascination with moving or
spinning objects and can spend an excessive amount of time
watching the same movement. The onset of ASDs is before age 3 years,
with Autism also often accompanied by mental
retardation.
Course and
Prognosis
The course of ASDs is chronic and
difficult to treat. The most important part of treatment is
family therapy and the education of family members about the
disorder. A patient and skillful approach can significantly improve
the quality of life for children with ASDs. Long term
outcome also depends on the child's intelligence, with higher
intellectual ability predicting better overall
functioning.
What We
Offer
We offer complete assessment of Autism
Spectrum Disorders for children over 2 years of age. The age cut-off
is necessary as we include full intellectual ability assessment in
our process to determine the extent of difficulties and the
likely prognosis for each child.
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