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The Autism Diagnostic Process in BC
The Process for Children
Unsure whether your worries about your child are reasonable?
Standards & Guidelines for Assessment & Diagnosis in BC
What to do if your family doctor does not share your concern?
How long will I have to wait for my child to be diagnosed?
Private Assessments
The Process for Children
If you are the parent of a child whom you suspect may have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), your first stop is your family doctor. Family doctors cannot diagnose ASD but they can refer you to a specialist (a pediatrician, psychologist or pediatrician) or directly to the BC Autism Assessment Network – BCAAN. This is a network of regionally-based diagnostic teams across BC funded by the Ministry of Health. For general information see www.phsa.ca/AgenciesServices/Services/Autism/default.htm).
If you would like more specific information about the BCAAN process and the assessment/diagnosis of children who may have autism, you can send an e-mail to autism@phsa.ca or call the BCAAN Information Line at 604-453-8343. You can also find helpful information within their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s): hwww.phsa.ca/AgenciesServices/Services/Autism/ParentsCaregiversFAQs.htm#4
Unsure as to whether your worries about your child are reasonable?
Unfortunately, there is no medical test for ASD. Diagnosing autism is complicated because it is based on a child’s behaviours not on the results of blood or genetic testing. However, parent concerns are shown by research to be a good indicator that a child is having significant problems. Usually it is the parents or close family members who first recognize that a child is showing atypical behaviour.
- For details on Red Flags for Autism in young children with ASD see: Red Flags for Autism in Toddlers (.pdf)
- An excellent, parent friendly, book on this topic is: “Does My Child Have Autism ? – A Parent’s Guide to Early Detection and Intervention in Autism Spectrum Disorders” written by Wendy Stone, PhD with Theresa Foy DiGeronimo, M.Ed., published by Josey-Bass, 2006.
Standards & Guidelines for the Assessment & Diagnosis of Young Children with ASD in
British Columbia
Families in BC are fortunate that we are the first province in Canada, and one of the first jurisdictions in the world, to have a coherent set of diagnostic standards that are clearly in line with the best of international research and practice. These guidelines are something that you can share with your family doctor as you are discussing whether a referral to BCAAN is a good idea. Your family doctor may know about them but they do have a great deal of information to keep current with and may appreciate you being proactive. The BC Standards and Guidelines can be found at: www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/cpa/publications/asd_standards_0318.pdf
An important part of the guidelines are found in: Section 5.2 Surveillance and Screening. Some of the highlights of this section are:
- “Numerous studies have established that parental concerns about communication, development and behavior are highly sensitive and specific and should always receive serious consideration.”
- “It is critical that children with ASD be identified as early as possible. It is possible to identify and diagnose ASD by 3 years of age and some believe as early as the second year of life.”
- “Studies have demonstrated that most parents of children subsequently diagnosed with ASD first became concerned about their child's development around 18 months of age.”
View Section 5.2 in PDF format.
Another great source of current information aimed at Canadian family physicians can be found on the website of CAIRN – the Canadian Autism Intervention Research Network www.cairn-site.com .
ACT will be happy to send you this information by mail if this is more convenient.
What to do if your family doctor does not share your concerns?
At times parents find it difficult to convince their family doctor that they have reason to be concerned. Research is clear that waiting to initiate a referral is not in the best interests of the child. ASD is invisible; frequently, affected children are overlooked because they appear intelligent, healthy and attractive. Sometimes parents are told that they shouldn’t worry because their child is a boy or more than one language is spoken at home. These are not reasons for a child not developing typically.
Parents should be persistent in asking for a referral. List your concerns in writing. Bring copies of any supportive reports from other professionals, including teachers, speech pathologists or Infant Development Program Consultants.
If this is not successful, consider finding a new family doctor who understands the need to address your worries in a timely manner. Please always feel free to call or email ACT if you have concerns and need some support in navigating the diagnosis process, wherever you live in British Columbia. info@autismcommunitytraining.bc.ca or call 504-205-5467 or toll-free 1-866-939-5188.
How long will I have to wait for my child to be diagnosed?
Waiting times for BCAAN’s regional publicly funded teams vary from region to region and fluctuate across the year. There is a shortage of diagnosticians working in the area of autism across the province. Although priority is given to
children under six, the current average time to receive a BCAAN diagnosis is three to five months.
Private Assessments
It is possible for parents to pay for autism assessments privately; however, many of the more experienced private diagnosticians for autism also have waiting lists. Private assessments do vary in quality as currently there is no system for insuring that all private practitioners are adhering to the BC Standards and Guidelines or using the diagnostics tools as they are meant to be used. In order for families to receive funding from MCFD, private clinicians do need to use the same tests as are endorsed by the Standards and Guidelines. It does happen that parents have a private assessment done but it does not meet the standards of a multi-disciplinary assessment as required by the Ministry for Children and Family Development and parents have wasted their funds. It is a good idea to take a copy of the Standards and Guidelines when visiting a prospective diagnostician to make sure they are able to do what is required. www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/cpa/publications/asd_standards_0318.pdf
ACT does have a list of some private diagnosticians on file. Contact us at info@autismcommunitytraining.bc.ca or call 504-205-5467 or toll-free 1-866-939-5188.
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